Distance
by Laura x Tennant
Summary: Set after GitF. Assume that the Doctor and Rose were already intimately involved prior to the ordeal in eighteenth century France. Rose decides to leave. The Doctor wants to win her back. But is there more to her departure than his betrayal of her trust?
1. Chapter 1

_A/N:_ _OH the angst. Bear with me, though. _

_**Distance**_

~ Part 1 ~

::

Taking in a deep breath, Rose hoisted her bag onto her shoulder and walked determinedly through the console room.

Hearing Rose's footsteps, the Doctor looked up from the console screen and frowned in confusion. "Oh, are we staying at your mother's for a bit?"

Rose swallowed hard and turned to face him. "No."

His frowned deepened. "Then where are you going?"

"Doctor, I'm going home."

The Doctor smiled nervously. "What do you mean? This is your - "

"No," she interrupted. "I'm going back to Mum's. And I'm staying there."

His smiled faded. "What?"

"I can't do this anymore," she murmured, her voice cracking.

"What?"

She exhaled roughly. "Doctor, you hurt me. I can't...I can't stay after what's happened."

"Wait, is this about what happened on the spaceship?"

"It's more about what happened in pre-revolutionary France, to be honest," she corrected him.

"Rose, don't be silly, that didn't – it wasn't - "

"Woah, no. No. You don't get to tell me not to be silly. I'm not being _silly. _I'm not a _child. _And in case you're forgetting, you left me – and Mickey – to chase after another woman."

"It wasn't like that! I had to sort out the clockwork robot problem, didn't I?"

"Oh, right. Yeah. Course, how _silly _of me to assume that we couldn't've worked that problem out together like we usually do. But then usually we're not presented with such a beautiful, accomplished lady to help, are we? So there's the difference, then. Who'd want some classless chav like me in the palace - "

"Rose, stop it. Stop it. You're not making any sense."

"Yes, I am. I am, Doctor. Because normal, decent people who are in a relationship – which, remember, we are – don't go off and shag other people whilst the other is almost getting killed by a clockwork bloody robot!"

His eyes widened in astonishment. "You don't actually think that I – Rose, of course I didn't do that. I would never do that."

"Yeah, well, you wanted to."

"No I didn't." He rolled his eyes in frustration. "Why does everything have to do with that for you humans, eh?"

"Oh, thanks. So what, then? What you had was too special with her to tarnish it with sex? So what it is between us, then, Doctor? Just a cheap little - "

"No! No, no, no. That's not at all what I meant! Stop twisting my words!"

"I'm not twisting your words. Fact is, you went and trapped yourself there with her – and that's fair enough, you had to save her, although why I couldn't come with you I don't understand - "

"Because I _trust _you, and you're the only one I would trust look after the TARDIS for me - "

"But you didn't think you'd be able to get back! So me and Mickey would've just been stuck there for god knows how long without any way to get home."

"I would've figured something out, I always do! Anyway, I got back alright, so where's the issue?"

"The issue is that you came back _heartbroken, _Doctor." Her voice cracked on the word, but she refused to let the tears spill over her eyes. She was too angry to let him see her cry over him.

"No I didn't," he replied, sounding confused.

"Not right away you didn't, but when you went back _again, _to get Reinette, to bring her back with you so that she could join us, and discovered that it was too late; _then _you came back with your letter and your sad eyes and you were devastated, don't pretend you weren't. And how do you think that makes me _feel, _eh? 'Cos on the one hand I want to comfort you because I hate to see you so sad, and on the other, you've gone and fallen for another woman in the space of a few hours and ruined everything we've built together over the last year and a bit."

"Rose, please listen to me. I was sad that she died, yeah, but I didn't fall for her. I let her down and she spent her last years waiting for me, which was needless and stupid and I feel _guilty, _that's all, I – I..."

She stared at him across the gulf of space between them and sighed sadly. "I know that you feel guilty. But Doctor, it's generally considered bad form for someone to make their girlfriend feel like nothing compared to the extraordinary other woman."

"_Girlfriend?_ Other woman?" he spluttered.

"Yes! Okay, so it's fine if you don't want to label us as that, in silly degrading human terms, but what else do you think we are? Do you not see us as a couple? Is the sex really just sex for you?"

"No, Rose."

"No what? No we're not a couple? No we're not serious? Exclusive?"

"No, the sex isn't just sex. We are all those things, Rose. Of course we are."

"Then you admit that you betrayed me?"

He swallowed hard. "I..."

"I had to watch you act that way with someone else whilst feeling like a nagging wife for merely being confused as to why things had changed between us all of a sudden. You hurt me. Plus, you even kissed her, and who knows what else."

"I promise that there was nothing else."

"You haven't even said you're sorry."

"I am, Rose. I am sorry if I made you feel that way. It was never my intention. I just got all caught up in the events of the day and – and if I betrayed you, then I am sorry."

She stared at him for a moment, then shook her head. "If. If if if. Right then. Well. I'll be off." She nodded towards the door.

His eyes almost popped out of his head. "What?"

"I'm leaving now. Don't try to stop me. It's my choice."

He dashed over to her and grabbed her hand desperately. "You said you'd never leave me," he murmured, his voice breaking under the weight of his words.

She turned her head and steadily met his gaze as she shrugged her free shoulder. "People lie. You of all people should know that." And then she snatched her hand away from his and stepped through the TARDIS doors.

He stood absolutely still for a moment, blinking in astonishment at the empty space in front of him. Swallowing hard to stop the bile rising in his throat, his stomach churning in regret, he launched himself into action and barrelled through the doors after her.

She was already at the doors to her Mum's block, so he sprinted over to catch up. She must have heard him coming, but she refused to look behind her or acknowledge his presence. He followed her up the stairs, trying to persuade her to –

"Come back to the TARDIS, Rose. Please? Look, you just have to think about this, and at the moment you're not thinking rationally, you're just – you're _reacting, _and of course I deserve this but Rose, please, if you just wait, if you just stop and _think, _you'll see that I can make this right, I can make this up to you, please just let me make this up to you - "

"It's too late, Doctor," she snapped, turning around to face him finally, at the top of the staircase. "It's over and done with and to be honest, I'd've thought you'd be grateful."

"Grateful? _Grateful!" _he spluttered, suddenly so very angry. "Why in the universe would I be _grateful _for you leaving!"

Her jaw clenched in frustration and she seethed, "This is what you _wanted. _So don't you dare – don't you _dare _try and make it seem as though I'm the one in the wrong. This is all your fault and this is what you _want. _Don't pretend you suddenly give a shit about our relationship all of a sudden."

He growled in annoyance and closed the distance between them to push her away from the top of the stairs and out on the balcony, in case one of them accidentally tripped over during their row. "You're being unfair, now," he told her, voice low. "There is nothing in the entire _cosmos _I value as much as our relationship."

"Pfft, spare me that," she laughed, a horribly unnatural kind of chuckle that didn't suit her at all, not when he'd heard her laugh so joyously and so freely in the past.

He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath, then exhaled it roughly. "What, exactly, do I have to do to convince you about how much you mean to me?" He opened his eyes, staring into hers fiercely.

"Nothing," she shrugged, adjusting her grip on her bag. "I shouldn't have to ask you to do anything. Goodbye, Doctor." And then she turned and stalked down the balcony.

Watching her walk away from him, the Doctor's knees gave out in utter shock. "Rose," he called out after her, gripping onto the railing to hoist himself back into a standing position. "Rose!"

She didn't turn around.

::


	2. Chapter 2

~ Part 2 ~

_::_

Numb with shock, the Doctor returned to the TARDIS to collect his thoughts and come up with a plan of action vis-à-vis Winning Rose Tyler Back. He was positively certain that if he attempted to go to Jackie's flat, both mother and daughter would not let him in. The only way of seeing Rose and hopefully changing her mind was to wait until she went out, therefore he positioned himself in front of the console screen.

And, trying not to think about the negative connotations of doing so, he watched out for Rose.

::

All night, he sat there gloomily staring at the screen and pondering over a thousand and one ways of making things right. Shortly before Rose had left, Mickey had gone back to his flat to get a few more bits of luggage, but he hadn't yet come back to the TARDIS. The Doctor suspected Rose had called him to let him know that their travels together were apparently over.

It wasn't until eight o'clock the following the morning that he spotted Rose walking across the courtyard outside. He jumped to his feet and stretched his aching muscles, then dashed out of the TARDIS doors.

"Rose!" he called out.

He reckoned she heard him, because she sped up her pace.

"Rose, please," he begged, sprinting over to her. "Please just – can we talk? I need to talk to you. I can't just let this happen, Rose, I…"

"Leave me alone," she muttered.

"Where are you going, anyway?" he asked her in confusion.

"None of your business."

"Please can we just stop and talk for a moment? Or, I dunno…we could get breakfast at that café we like, and - "

"I've already eaten," she mumbled, refusing to look at him.

"Please, Rose - "

"Go away!" she exclaimed, frustrated with him beyond measure.

"Rose, this isn't you," he continued, walking quicker to keep up with her determined stride. "This isn't you at _all."_

She came to a sudden stop and levelled her scariest Jackie-esque glare at him. "What the hell would you know, eh? How dare you act as though I'm not justified in leaving you after what you did!"

"Oh for goodness' sake - it was just a kiss!" he shouted in frustration, but as soon as the words left his mouth he knew he'd made a grave mistake.

Rose swallowed hard and didn't reply for a long moment, and his hearts sped up in a panic as he feared her next move. When she finally spoke, evidently having waited to compose herself somewhat, her voice was low and definitive.

"If you'd really thought that," she said carefully. "At the time, if you'd really thought that, then you wouldn't have risked everything we have by inviting her with us."

He ached with how much he wanted Rose to come home to him but he could not help himself – he wanted to try to justify his actions. "That's an unreasonable assumption," he answered. "And, quite frankly, an unreasonable request. I invite people along in the TARDIS all the time, Rose. It's what I _do. _It's the reason why you live there in the first place, and to expect me to just _stop _inviting people who I think would enjoy a trip - "

"You are completely missing the point, you arrogant prick," she interrupted him. "And _that, _more than anything, is the reason I've left. You've utterly missed the _point, _and I don't think I can forgive you for that."

"Then tell me, Rose! Tell me what you want to hear, what you want me to sa-"

"No!" she shouted. "No, I won't, because if you can't figure it all out on your own then there's no way I can stay with you."

"Rose -"

"_No," _she interrupted swiftly. "No. You're just gonna have to accept that things are over between us, alright?"

"Well, I can't," he replied just as swiftly, staring at her in that Oncoming Storm sort of way as if to dare her to contradict him.

"Tough. Now stop following me and go and find someone else. You're good at that."

This time, when she walked away, he let her go; they'd started to attract a bit of a crowd with their shouting, and he didn't want one of the neighbours calling the police or something if he followed her.

He was absolutely and resolutely_ not_, however, going to go far himself. He was going to go back to the TARDIS again, and the TARDIS was going to stay right where she was.


	3. Chapter 3

~ Part 3 ~

::

The Doctor couldn't bear the silence of the console room. He decided to take a walk through the TARDIS to try to clear his head enough to work out his next plan.

He made his way down the corridor, stopping for a few moments outside their room. But he couldn't bear to step inside, not now. He carried on walking, and soon found himself in the kitchen. He put the kettle on, and out of habit pulled two mugs out of the cupboard. He stared at them for a while, then sighed and returned the spotted pink one to its place in the cupboard. He made his tea than sank down into a chair at the table, feeling exhausted.

He couldn't think straight. He needed Rose. He intended to fight for her, for their relationship, but he wasn't good at this, he wasn't _human, _and he had no idea what the best course of action was, and it left him feeling miserable and drained.

She'd have to come to the TARDIS at some point, he knew that – she hadn't taken all of her things with her, after all. Thus, if she intended to leave him for good, she'd come back and collect the rest of her stuff. Mind you, Mickey had some bits and bobs here too, so maybe she'd just get him to get it all together.

He sighed heavily. Maybe he could come up with some emergency or other, to get her to come here? At least then they'd be able to talk. She probably wouldn't take too kindly to him lying to her, though. So that wouldn't work.

::

Eventually, he acknowledged that he needed some sleep. He didn't think he could face their room, though. He didn't want to see the majority of her stuff gone. But, though he had initially decided to sleep elsewhere, curiosity soon got the better of him and he ended up in their bedroom after all.

Flopping onto the bed, he squeezed his eyes shut for a few moments before resigning himself to the inevitable and opening them again to glance around. Her book was still on her bedside table, but it had been a present from him so that was no surprise. He picked it up – it was quite thick, a small collection comprising of her three favourite novels in one hand-bound book – and read the extensive inscription he'd written on the inside cover just three months earlier.

_Rose,_

_Happy Christmas! I thought I'd scour the depths of a hundred bookshops to find you this. I remember you telling me once that there are plenty of books containing the works of one specific author but it's a shame that you can't make a collection of your personal favourites from different authors, different times. Well here you are! Your very own copy of your favourites - a Dickens, an Austen and a McEwan all in one! Are you impressed? Well of course you are, I'm very impressive. Anyway! I'll sign this off with some wise words from Dr Seuss: the more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go._

_Love,_

_The Doctor x_

The Doctor rolled his eyes at himself. He even babbled when he wrote, no wonder she was fed up with him. He did smile a little, though, at the fact he'd written about looking for this in bookshops. He hadn't done so really, and Rose had guessed that straight away. She'd looked up at him with an arched eyebrow and said, "No way did this actually exist. You had this made especially, didn't you?"

And he'd shrugged and she'd grinned and he'd agreed, "One of a kind." And then she'd kissed him on the cheek and told him that she would treasure it forever.

Treasure it forever indeed. Unless she left it behind after leaving him, apparently.

He placed it back on the bedside table and swung his legs over her side of the bed so that he could open the drawer. Empty. She'd taken her diary and her jewellery, then. He stood, and made his way over to the chest of drawers. Sure enough, her ones were vacant. The wardrobe had a few items of clothing still hanging up on her side, but they were ones that she'd obtained from the TARDIS wardrobe. She probably thought that they weren't hers to take. They were.

He only had to glance at the dressing table to see that she'd taken all her make-up and hair brushes. What remained were the bits and bobs they'd picked up from this planet or another – mementos and little ornaments and that lovely snow globe. It appeared as though she wanted nothing that reminded her of their time together.

At that thought he went rigid, his eyes widening in horror as he realised something. Then, he sprinted out of the room, running to the shelf in the library where they kept the four photo albums that showcased their various adventures. They were all there, as he'd suspected, but he opened each one and flicked through just in case she'd –

There. One photo was missing. He knew exactly which one it was, too, and it hit him like a kick in the stomach. She'd taken one that had them both in it, his arm slung casually across her shoulders – only, it wasn't _this _him, but his previous self. That was all she'd taken to remember him by. A photo of the last him.

He wasn't quite sure why that hurt him more than the idea that she'd taken _nothing _as a remembrance, but it did.

He put the photo albums back on the shelf, returned to the bedroom, and buried himself under the covers, deciding that a good session of moping and feeling sorry for himself was in order.


	4. Chapter 4

~ Part 4 ~

::

The Doctor woke up with a newfound sense of determination. He'd been asleep for seven hours, and had dreamt of her and him and a happy ever after. And so now he was quite resolute in his belief that he could not let her go, not without begging her to reconsider. He loved her, and whatever she was feeling now, he knew she loved him really. All that was left was to remind her of that, and plead for her forgiveness.

He wasn't even deterred when he knocked on the door to the Tyler flat only to have it slammed back in his face when Jackie opened it. Nor was he deterred when he'd appealed to Jackie as she left the flat to go shopping –

"You stay away from me," she snapped, shouldering her handbag. "I knew you were no good for my daughter the first moment I laid eyes on you!"

"Actually, Jackie, I think if you remember rightly you attempted to seduce me into your bedroom the first time you laid eyes on me -"

"Shut it. Now go away. I won't have you pestering her while I'm out!"

"Jackie, I just want to talk to her. I _need _to talk to her. I need _her, _I can't just walk away - "

"Can't you? I thought that was what you were all about. Time travelling alien who can't stand still, that's you, isn't it?"

He sighed heavily. "Jackie. Rose means everything to me and you _know _that. You've seen us, the way we are together, you know that's how it's meant to be. I can't go away, knowing that she's here, in this flat – I just – please, Jackie. Remember what you said to me a fortnight ago? About how you knew how much I care about her? You were right, Jackie, so right. And if I could just - "

"Doctor," she interrupted firmly. "She doesn't want to see you. I'm sorry, but you've messed up whatever you two had, and now you've got to face the consequences."

"Did she tell you what I did?" he asked tentatively.

"She told me what she thinks you did, yeah," she said, folding her arms. "I mean, I found it hard to believe, to be honest. But asking another woman to come away with you is pretty damning evidence, if you ask me."

The Doctor shook his head. "It wasn't like that. Rose is angry because she thinks there was something between me and Reinette but there wasn't. I promise you, Jackie."

"But you kissed her."

"She kissed me."

"But you didn't pull away."

"…well, no. But it happened so quickly and - "

"And you left Rose and Mickey to run off with her and live a life you said you'd never be able to live with Rose."

"What?"

"The slow path sort of life. You wouldn't do that for Rose."

He looked at her in confusion. "I never said that."

"It's implied by everything you _have _said. You told me, even – you said that you'd never be able to give Rose a normal life, a normal relationship."

"She doesn't _want _a normal life!"

"But if she did. Would you give it all up? Space and time – the stars? Would you give all that up to live a life by her side on Earth, if that's what she wanted, if that's what was needed?"

"I…"

"Exactly. Your TARDIS means too much to you to give it up for Rose."

"No, wait - "

"And Rose knows that. She'd never make you choose. So can you imagine how she must feel, knowing that you were willing to risk never getting the TARDIS back, all for Reinette?"

"That's – that's not how it was at all! I had to go through the mirror or she would've died, and - "

"She knows all that; but you didn't take Rose with you."

"She needed to look after the TARDIS, and Mickey, and it was a spur-of-the-moment decision, I couldn't - "

"Rose loved you. She thought you and her was everything she'd ever need. But you kept pushing her away, even after you started being together properly. And then to top it all off you were prepared to live a normal life with another woman, something you've never considered doing with her. Is it any wonder that she's feeling insecure?"

"I can assure you, Jackie, that nothing, _nothing _happened between Reinette and me. It isn't how it seems from what Rose has told you - "

"I don't seriously think you had sex with this French woman, whoever she is, Doctor. And I think that deep down Rose knows that, too. But I do believe my daughter when she looks at me with tears in her eyes and says that her good-for-nothing alien boyfriend somehow managed to fall for someone else in the space of five minutes. Oh, and another thing! She also told me that you saw this posh woman as a child, first. What are you, some sort of pervert?"

"Woah, woah, hang on, hold it right there - "

"I've got nothing more to say," Jackie shrugged. "Now if you don't mind, I've got shopping to do."

"Jackie, I didn't fall for her, for Rassilon's sake," he called after her as she walked down the hall towards the stairs. "I didn't! How could I when I'm head over heels for your bloody daughter!"

Jackie half-turned and even from the distance between them the Doctor could tell she had her eyebrows raised. "You've never bloody told her _that, _though, have you?" she remarked knowingly, before hurrying off.

The Doctor stood there, a lump in his throat.

What a fool he had been. What a damned fool.

::

He stood outside the Tylers' front door for another two hours. Which was bordering on harassment, he knew, and he felt bad about it; but he wasn't actually doing anything or harming anyone. He was just standing outside, waiting for Rose to come out for whatever reason, so that he could try to talk to her. Jackie hadn't returned yet, and he knew that Rose was inside. All he had to have was patience.

Which was a bit difficult, he had to admit, seeing as he was rocking back and forth impatiently in a failed attempt to stand still.

Suddenly, the door opened. He blinked in surprise.

"What?" Rose said, glaring at him.

"What?" he repeated dumbly.

She rolled her eyes. "You've been out here for a couple of hours. Next door rang to ask if you'd forgotten your key. Stop confusing my neighbours and go away."

"Sorry, Rose, but I just – I just need -"

"What are you even doing?" she asked him wearily, repeatedly tucking her hair behind her ear in the persistent breeze.

"Well. I'm waiting," he answered, in a tone of voice that said it should be obvious.

"For what?"

"You to come to your senses."

"Doctor," she sighed, folding her arms. "How many more times do I have to say this before you get it past that thick Time Lord skull of yours? I'm staying _here. _With Mum. On Earth. So go back to the TARDIS and just fly away, yeah?"

"No. I'm not running away from this any more. I refuse to give up on us."

The expression that came upon her face in that moment was one of pity, and he hated it. "Then you're more daft than I thought you were," she said softly. He opened his mouth to reply but she just muttered a quick, "Goodbye, Doctor," and closed the door on his face.

He sighed heavily and leant his forehead against the wood, hardly able to believe they'd come to this. Either side of a door and no hope of reconciliation.


	5. Chapter 5

~ Part 5 ~

::

Two weeks and eight failed conversations later, the TARDIS was still parked in the same place. The Doctor could equal Rose's stubbornness any day, and had taken it upon himself to stick around in case she changed her mind. One morning, as he pottered around the console room, he caught sight of Rose walking across the courtyard towards the flats on the console screen.

He went outside and casually leaned against the TARDIS so that she'd have to acknowledge him as she passed.

"Doctor, this is getting ridiculous," she told him firmly, once she'd reached him. "It's been days. She hates staying in one place, and so do you, so take the TARDIS back to the stars, yeah? You have things to see, people to save, and you can't just abandon the universe and your last of the Time Lord responsibilities to hang about here _stalking _me all day. It's starting to freak me out a bit."

"I entirely resent the implication that I am _stalking _you."

"Well you are."

"I'm merely trying to prove a point."

She sighed. "And what point would that be?"

"That I can stand still. That I can hang around on Earth for indefinite periods of time without going mad. That I can and will do this for as long as it takes for you to see that I still and will always love you."

Rose blinked at him silently for a few moments. "You have to go," she whispered, her voice smaller and more vulnerable than he'd ever heard it.

His brow furrowed in confusion. "Rose...?" he asked slowly.

"What?" she exhaled roughly.

"Something's not right," he said, squinting at her.

"What?" she repeated, apparently baffled.

"All this time, there's been...there's been something else, hasn't there? Something's happened. What is it?"

"I don't know what you are talking about," she answered, eyes wide and conveying innocence.

"I know that you hated me for what I did and I know that what I did was wrong," he said carefully. "But I also know that you would have forgiven me for it by now, because you still love me."

"Don't flatter yourself too much, Doctor," she mumbled, her eyes dropping to the floor.

He raised his hand to her chin to bring her head up to look at him properly again. "Tell me. What is it you're hiding? Why are you really so certain that things can never be the same between us?"

"Because they _can't," _she insisted. She looked so astoundingly sad in that moment that he stared at her in bafflement, then instinctively pulled her into his arms, rubbing her back with one hand and cradling her head with his other.

"Hey," he said softly, "What is it, Rose? What's wrong?"

She gripped his lapels and pushed herself back from him, shrugging out of his hold. "I can't," she murmured. "I can't, I just..." She bit her lip anxiously, unable to meet his eye, then let go, dashing away from him.

The Doctor was now thoroughly confused, and was not about to let her move away from him again. He needed to know the truth. He practically chased her up the stairs and caught up with her as she fumbled with her keys to unlock the door to the flat. Seeing her struggling, he gently took the keys from her and unlocked the door, placing a hand on her back to guide her inside and following her in. To his relief, she didn't refuse him entry, just collapsed in a weary heap on the sofa and barely flinched when he sat down beside her.

"I can't tell you," she whispered. "I just can't."

"Why not?" he persisted. "Rose? I'm sorry, I just – Rose, tell me. What is it?"

"You won't want to stay, and you won't want me to come with you, you just won't. And even if you did, how could I ever be sure that this was really what you wanted, how could I be sure that you wouldn't just drop us off somewhere and expect us to get on with life without you? What if you got bored again, or found someone better again, got distracted and just...abandoned..." she broke off, unable to continue. She ran a hand through her hair tiredly.

"Remember I once called you the best? Yeah, that hasn't changed, Rose Tyler. How could I ever get bored of – hold on." He froze suddenly. "Did you say, 'us?'"

Rose sighed. "Okay, so I think I need to show you something." She stood up and folded her arms across her chest in a protective gesture. "At least this'll force you to accept once and for all that things have changed, that both of us have to move on." She nodded towards the hallway. "Come with me a second."

He followed her with a furrowed brow and heavy hearts, and watched her open her bedroom door. They stepped inside her room and Rose told him to sit down.

"Wait here," she said, as she rummaged in her chest of drawers for something. He couldn't see what it was when she found it, for she tucked it beneath her jumper quickly and dashed out of her room.

He ran a hand over his tired face and jumped through the possibilities in his mind. He wasn't completely stupid. One possibility was blaring out at him with more plausibility than the rest, but surely, _surely _she couldn't be_. _Surely it _wasn't _a possibility, because although by her words and her actions it sort of made sense, how could it have even happened? He was a Time Lord and she was a human and it just – he wasn't supposed to have this. He wasn't supposed to be _able _to, and what if it went wrong, what if her physiology couldn't cope with it and wait, why the hell hadn't she told him about this as soon as she'd found out? This could be _dangerous, _he needed to research and do tests and –

Oh.

Another thought hit him abruptly. He swallowed. The idea that she might be...blimey…with someone else's, someone who wasn't him, it – oh Rassilon, it hurt more than he would ever have imagined it would.

Just in case it had any bearing whatsoever on what she was about to tell him, he prayed to all the gods that he didn't believe in that if she was what he thought she was, then the reason was absolutely and positively partly his fault.

"I thought that showing you might be easier than telling you," Rose murmured, leaning against the doorframe. He glanced up at her as she spoke, his hearts beating a painfully fast dance inside his chest. She brought her hands out from behind her back, and showed him what she had been hiding; his hearts jolted in syncopated rhythm. "I got quite a few, 'cos - " her voice was as shaky as her hands and she breathed out slowly before continuing, "'Cos I wanted to be absolutely certain." Then she chuckled slightly. "Once I'd done five I thought I'd not bother with another. It seemed pretty conclusive. Anyway, here it is."

The Doctor held out his hand palm up; she placed the white stick on it carefully and held her breath for his reaction.

He stared at it. The two blue lines that represented something which changed everything. Then, he sensed that she hadn't taken a breath for a while, and jumped up with a sudden movement. "Rose, breathe," he murmured, placing his free hand on her shoulder. They met each other's eye as she let out a long breath. He was silent again and he saw panic flash through her eyes when he briefly glanced at her bedroom door.

"Say something," she whispered. "Please. Say something, before you just leave."

The corner of his mouth turned up slightly, a sad sort of smile. "I don't really know what to say," he admitted. "I have all these questions, but I can't – they just sort of get lodged in my throat and I – Rose, how far along?"

"Fourteen weeks."

"You've had a scan, then."

"Yes. A while ago."

"And..."

"I thought that it'd be safe to," she said. "Seeing as it was really early on. They just figured that the two heartbeats meant twins." She laughed briefly, sadly. "Idiots."

The Doctor let out a whoosh of breath and sat back down on the bed, his knees buckling somewhat under the casual confirmation that the baby was indeed his. Rose shifted from foot to foot restlessly.

"Did you know, before you left?"

"Yeah. Well, I hadn't had the scan then, but I'd taken the tests and it just..._felt _like I was. It's weird, I can't explain it, I just kind of knew."

"Is this _why_ you left?" he asked next, his throat tightening with emotion.

"I left because if you could become infatuated with another woman, a brilliant, clever, accomplished, beautiful woman, within five minutes of knowing her then there was no chance that you'd stick around and play domestic for me and a baby. A baby isn't compatible with your life, I knew that, but Reinette confirmed that maybe I wasn't so compatible with your life either."

"Rose." He put the pregnancy test to one side and stood up again, taking hold of her hands. Blinking back tears, he murmured, "I never thought that this would happen."

"I know," she whispered back. "And it's not your fault that you can't do this, it's just a fact. A fact I've come to terms with."

"No, wait, you didn't – you didn't let me finish."

"Doctor, I can do this. I'm not getting rid of it. I thought about it at first, but - but I've got Mum, and my friends, and I can do this alone; it's not like I'm gonna be the first person to be a single parent on this estate - in this flat, even."

"No, but you're the first one to be pregnant with my child, Rose."

"You must have friends who'd help me out during the pregnancy – that UNIT place you were talking about, surely they'd help me hide the Gallifreyan-ness of the baby from the authorities or whatever - "

"First things first, yes I have friends there but you aren't going anywhere near UNIT. They've got guns and you will not put yourself or this baby around guns, Rose, okay? Secondly, obviously it's part-human but you can't simply hide the fact that our baby will have two hearts and a far superior mind than those of its contemporaries. Thirdly, why are we even talking about this in such a way? You're not going through this alone, Rose Tyler."

"Doctor - "

"Let's go back to the TARDIS," he interrupted her. "I can run a few tests and things..." he trailed off, noting her expression. "What?"

"You're worried. What is it? I get that it's gonna be a bit...well, it's not exactly gonna be plain-sailing, I get that, but...is it gonna be really dangerous, me carrying this baby?"

He scratched at the back of his neck awkwardly. "Honestly, Rose, I've no idea. That's why you need to come home with me so we can clear some things up. Like how long you'll be pregnant for, for example. And how your body will adapt to a part-Gallifreyan baby growing inside of it."

"Right," she sighed, nodding. "Right."


	6. Chapter 6

~ Part 6 ~

::

Once they were inside the TARDIS, they went straight to the infirmary.

"I'm not impressed, you know," he murmured suddenly, as he was rummaging around in cupboards for the devices he would need to run some tests. He couldn't find the transducer probe that he needed to hook up to the ultrasound machine, and he was getting impatient. His anxiety over Rose's safety was making somersaults twist and turn inside his stomach.

"What?"

"You. Keeping this from me. It could be dangerous, and it was stupid of you to not tell me straight away."

"Oh, don't give me that," Rose exclaimed. "If you really cared then you - "

"What?" he demanded. "What would I have done? Well, I would have stayed on Earth and waited for you. Oh, hold on, yes: _I did."_

"No, you wouldn't have been such a prick in the first place," she huffed, crossing her arms.

"Oh that's mature," he scoffed, and emptied out a cabinet in frustration. "Where is this bloody thing…"

"Don't you dare try and turn the blame on me," Rose said next. "You were the one who went off with someone else."

He ran a hand through his hair, sighing in exasperation. "I've said I'm sorry. I don't know what else I can do. But the fact is, you being pregnant and not telling me, that was – it was – it was _irresponsible, _Rose, and - "

"It was irresponsible of you to not fucking _tell _me I could get pregnant in the first place!" she shouted.

He straightened up in surprise, temporarily abandoning his quest. "What?" he whispered.

She exhaled roughly and sat down on the infirmary bed. "You said we didn't need to worry about protection. And I believed you. Any other man, and I would've been out of there like a shot after a line like that, but _you – _I trusted you! I thought you were the more knowledgeable one about this. So I believed you." She shook her head at herself. "And now look what's happened."

The Doctor looked to the floor, swallowing hard. "You don't want it, do you," he realised quietly.

Rose said nothing.

He looked up at her and saw that for the first time today, she actually looked like she would burst into tears at any moment. She'd been so strong, even in her fear of what he would say, but now…

"Rose," he said, voice strained, as he came over to stand in front of her. "I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry. I didn't know…I didn't think this could happen for us. I would never have lied to you about something like that, I genuinely didn't think this would be possible. At all. Ever."

Rose hastily wiped at her eyes and lifted her chin defiantly. "We still should've been more careful, just in case."

"I know that now," he murmured. "I just…Rose, on Gallifrey we didn't even reproduce this way anymore."

She frowned in confusion. "Then how…?"

"There was this process called the Looms and – well, I don't want to get into the scientific details right now but basically it was all done via the test tube. We had biological parents, but we didn't develop in our mother's wombs like you lot do. Not for centuries. So…this is a big shock, really. I didn't even think I was, you know, fertile."

"Blimey," she said. "Right. Well."

He let out a long breath and closed his eyes as he asked, "Would you prefer - " He cut off, swallowing convulsively.

"Prefer what?"

His eyes flickered open. "Do you want an abortion?"

Rose breath caught in her throat. They stared at each other in silence for a few moments. And then, she gently shook her head from side to side. "No," she whispered.

"You're sure?" he whispered back.

"I've thought it through," she explained. "I...I'd already decided that I wanted to keep it."

"Okay."

"Do you, though?"

"Do I what?"

"Do you want me to get rid of it?"

He winced at her phrasing, but was firm in his answer. "No, I don't."

"Really?" She sounded dubious.

"I know it happened by accident, and I know the timing is all wrong, and I know that you might think that I'm not capable of being what this child needs," he murmured, looking at the floor. "But it's - it's something special and a bit - a bit fantastic, really. That we made something, something that means that I'm maybe not quite the last, anymore."

Rose couldn't find the right words to respond to that, so she just nodded. And then something occurred to her. "Oh."

"What's wrong?"

"Um." She bit her lip, gathering her thoughts. "I just - I was just wondering. If, when you do the tests, if it seems like to carry this baby would, you know, put me in danger, would you risk it?"

His eyebrows rose, taken aback. "No. Your safety comes first. I would never willingly jeopardise that, not for a baby, not for anything. I would always choose you over a possibility."

The sincere meaning in his words was not lost on Rose, and she managed to offer him a small smile in return. She tried to lighten the conversation a little. "So, I take it you haven't got any other Earth-girls pregnant, then?"

He chuckled despite the situation. "No, Rose. Only you."

"Oh," she smiled slightly. "I feel special."

"You are special," he replied insistently. "Now let's get these tests sorted to put our minds at rest." He turned around again and busied himself with finding the transducer.

Again, Rose bit her lip worriedly. "You know this doesn't change things, right? Me and you, we're not..."

He looked back over at her in surprise. "What?"

"We're not getting back together. You know that, yeah?"

The Doctor scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Oh, right, well. If that's...are you sure? Don't you think it'd be nice for us to go back to - "

"No."

"But -"

"Doctor."

"Oh."

"You can be in this baby's life, but I'm not getting back together with you just because of it."

"But you _left _because of it in the first place."

"Um, no, Doctor. That was just part of the reason, remember?"

"Rose, I'm completely committed to you. You don't have to worry about anyone else, ever, all right? I'd've thought I'd proved to you by now just how much I need you."

"You don't get the easy way out or the reward or whatever just by being persistent, Doctor."

"But when you say that we're not getting back together, you just mean for now, until you're ready? Because I'll wait as long as it takes for you to be ready to forgive me and love me again."

"Doctor..."

"Yeah?"

"I think we should just concentrate on the baby for now. I don't want to keep talking about everything that's happened. The baby's what's important. And you know, us getting to be friends again. The other stuff's just not...I can't deal with all this at once."

"Right. Baby. Friends. Yes. I can do that."

"Good."


	7. Chapter 7

~ Part 7 ~

::

He finally found the transducer and then began setting up the ultrasound machine for a few moments. Rose lay down, and lifted her top to expose her belly, and he soon placed the scanner there. She shivered. "Bit cold."

"Sorry," he murmured apologetically. He moved the transducer across her belly, and when the machine picked up the baby's heartbeat, he met Rose's gaze and smiled. "There we go." He looked back at the screen, squinting as he assessed the basics. "Everything seems to be fine so far," he told her. "Probably best not to travel in the TARDIS whilst you're pregnant, though, as I'm not too certain about what exposure to the vortex would do to the foetus too early on, over a long period of time. Anyway, you're right about how far along you are. Fourteen weeks. Baby looks like its developing a little slower than a fully human foetus, but that's to be expected, really, considering Gallifreyans took longer to develop in the Looms, what with the triple helix and everything. Can't tell yet how you or how me it is, but I predict that seeing as my genes are more dominant, and the fact that two hearts are developing, the baby will probably have telepathic tendencies. As an adult, I can only do the telepathy thing whilst touching someone, but whilst the baby's brain is still in the process of being developed, it might reach out to your mind. How would you feel if it tried to connect like that?"

Rose shrugged. "What will it feel like, in my head?"

"Just a tickle," he answered carefully. "But it really would be beneficial for you to form that connection, or else the baby will feel…"

"What?"

He coughed uncomfortably but eventually met her eyes to respond, "Well, lonely."

"Oh. Okay. So is it like a telepathic bond, then?"

"Yes. That's it exactly."

"Will I be able to do it, though? I mean, I want to, but I'm not exactly telepathic myself."

"I reckon you've got enough of a low level telepathic capacity to cope with it. You probably won't feel it all the time; I'd imagine that would be quite draining. But anyway, that's not likely to happen yet. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, I just thought I ought to warn you so that you'd not be alarmed by it if it happens suddenly." She arched an eyebrow wryly and he cleared his throat. "I'm trying to get better at this thinking-ahead-about-the-possibilities thing, you see."

"Thank you," she murmured earnestly.

He removed the transducer and printed off a copy of the scan, placing it on the table beside the bed. He was just about to ask her if she'd mind him running a few more tests, when she started speaking. And once she'd started, she couldn't stop, and he listened to her patiently, knowing she needed to get something off her chest.

"Doctor, I want to tell you something. When I left, I wasn't sure what I was gonna do about this. Part of me wanted to keep it, to do what Mum did and bring it up by myself. But then, I knew how hard it was going to be, and I…I wasn't sure. I'm so young, and I didn't feel ready. It was unexpected and unwanted and I kept thinking that maybe the best thing for me to do was to get rid of the problem completely." She closed her eyes and fiddled with the hem of her t-shirt. "But then I went for a scan, and I heard the two hearts and I knew, then, in that moment, that I wanted to try. It was part of the only Time Lord left in existence and I couldn't - " she broke off, steadying her breathing.

Opening her eyes and sitting up, she continued, "I thought that maybe one day, when it was old enough, I could tell it about you and maybe it would inspire them to do what we did. Stand up and do what's right, and all that. I…I don't know. But now I know I want to give this raising a baby thing a chance. It's gonna be hard and everything, but I think – I think I'm strong enough. I mean, you think it's safe right? From the scan, nothing seems wrong? My body's adapting to it fine, yeah?"

He nodded. "So far, so good," he said gently. "I'll run a few more tests and things, to check your vitals, but right now you seem to be the picture of health, and so does the baby."

"Okay. Good." She nodded. "Then that's fine. I can do this. Whether you stick around or not, I can do this."

"Rose," he whispered, taking her hand in his. She didn't let him keep it, though, and instead lifted it out of his hold to stroke her hair behind her ear. He swallowed against the lump in his throat. "Rose," he said again, insistently. "I - I love you. I'll stick around as much as you want. Please don't let me lose you."

She sighed and shifted so that she was facing him, her legs dangling off the side of the infirmary bed. "I can't travel in the TARDIS while I'm pregnant, you said it might affect the development of the foetus?"

He nodded. "Possibly, yes. It's best not to take the risk."

"Then I'm going to go back to Mum's, and you can leave and come back after the nine months are up, or however long it's going to take, if you want. I know how impatient you are."

"What? No! I'm not missing out on the pregnancy. You might need me. And I'll want to run more tests to make sure everything's progressing as it should. You seem to forget that it's not a completely human baby in there, Rose; no ordinary hospital is going to do for you. Anything could happen. I need to be able to get to you quickly if your body suddenly can't cope with the changes its going to have to accommodate for the baby. So stop being silly, and let me stay with you."

She shook her head. "I think we just need a break, Doctor."

"Rose, I don't know how many times I have to tell you that I'm sorry before you believe it, but I'm going to keep saying it until you do - "

"I know you're sorry. I know that. But you still did what you did, you still..."

"I didn't sleep with her," he said firmly.

"I...I believe you."

"I will never betray you."

She sighed. "You say that now."

The Doctor emitted a sound of frustration. "Rose, I'm being serious - "

She met his gaze fiercely. "So am I. You can be nearby, but I can't go back to the way things were before, not yet."

"But - "

"I've got myself a new job. Once I've saved up enough for a deposit on the rent, I'm gonna get me and the baby somewhere of our own. It'd be too cramped at Mum's once it's born."

"I can give you money for a house," he said softly.

"No."

"Rose, don't be so stubborn!"

"I'll not have you stealing money from cashpoints just to -"

He rolled his eyes and interrupted her, "I've got a bank account that's been accruing interest for decades. We have plenty of money, you don't need to worry about that."

"But Doctor -"

"This is my child too," he pointed out. "You go house-hunting and pick somewhere nice and I'll sort it. All right?"

"Fine," she sighed, relenting. She met his eyes, then, and added, "Thank you."

He was silent for a minute. Quietly, hesitantly, he asked, "Are you sure you don't want me to live with you?"

"Doctor."

"I'm just asking."

"You wouldn't be able to survive in a house for too long anyway, stop kidding yourself."

His jaw clenched angrily and he stood up, moving away from her. He went over to a cabinet and got out another piece of medical technology. "I'm going to test your blood now, if that's all right," he muttered.

"Okay."

He came back over and placed a pad on her forearm. "It's not invasive, don't worry," he assured her. The scanner picked up what it wanted and he removed the pad swiftly, before setting the device aside to allow it time to analyse the results.

"Blimey, that's much better than getting out a syringe," Rose remarked.

He smiled tightly. "Just one of the reasons why it would be best for me to stay with you."

Rose huffed. "Look, I didn't say you couldn't visit. You can visit all you like. You can park the TARDIS in the garden for all I care. I just think that a bit of space would do us good."

His smile softened. "I can live in the TARDIS in the garden?" he asked hopefully. "You wouldn't mind that?"

She shrugged. "I s'pose. And you could go off and do the whole responsible Time Lord in charge of keeping the universe in order thing and then come back when you wanted." She paused, letting that idea turn over in both their minds. And then she added, "Providing you'll be able to get the time coordinates right for once, that is."


	8. Chapter 8

~ Part 8 ~

::

Seven weeks later, Rose had found and moved into the perfect house for her and the baby. It was a semi-detached, three bedroom property with a front and back garden and a gorgeous kitchen. She loved it, and it was only a half hour walk to her mum's, and a five minute walk to the local shops, so its location was convenient, too.

She was coming to the end of her fifth month of pregnancy, and was already showing quite prominently. Jackie, Mickey and the Doctor had helped her redecorate the living room in her first week of living there, and the place was looking brilliant, if she did say so herself. She'd never dreamed she'd live in such a lovely little house.

Keeping to her word, Rose had allowed the Doctor to park the TARDIS amongst the aptly placed rose bushes in the back garden. He didn't stay there permanently, for he conceded to Rose's point that he'd left the universe to fend for itself for rather too long as it was, so he popped back and forth between his life in the stars and his life on Earth.

It was easier than he thought it would be, combining both the relatively domestic – relatively because he didn't actually live in the house with her, and she barely let him help her around the house when he _did _get invited in – and the saving planets thing. He could tell, however, that Rose was jealous of his trips into space; she really, _really _missed the travelling, and would get him to tell her all about his adventures when he saw her.

He was allowed to visit every few days or so. Rose thought that this was the appropriate amount of time; the Doctor rather disagreed, thinking there was enough distance between them as it was, but he did as she asked. He missed her tremendously, of course, and he hoped that Rose missed him too, despite her never saying so. On his visits, he tended to stay until she told him to leave, which was, occasionally, not until quite late in the evening. He ran tests to check everything was progressing healthily with regards to her and the baby, they had lunch and chatted about what they'd both been up to, and then in the afternoons they'd go for a walk, or go shopping for things for both the house and their future addition to the makeshift Tyler family.

The job that Rose had told him she had acquired several weeks ago was one that she could do from home – typing up reports and articles for a local private investigator. The Doctor found this very intriguing, and often tried to snoop at what she was writing on her new laptop, but she insisted that it was confidential and he had to keep his nose out. Until one day, when something changed.

The Doctor had just sonicked his way into the house when he heard Rose calling his name. He immediately panicked, and ran so quickly into the living room that he knocked over the hall table. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Rose looked sheepish. "Oh, I'm fine, sorry. No, it's just that I've got something that you might be interested in checking out." She patted the sofa and he came to sit down next to her. "Take a look at this." She handed him her laptop and the accompanying notes to whichever investigation she was typing about.

"I thought I wasn't allowed to look at this sort of thing? Confidential, you said."

"Yeah, well, you're gonna want to see this," she said knowingly. "Just read it! I'll go and stick the kettle on."

The Doctor shrugged and started reading the file. His eyes widened. "Oh, no. Not again."

A few minutes later, Rose returned with their tea. "So? Interesting, eh?"

"Mmm," he murmured, and sipped at his drink.

"So, who's L.I.N.D.A? And why is my boss investigating them? And why are they investigating _you?"_

"They are investigating you, too. I'm surprised that your boss didn't have something to say about that."

"He did."

"Oh?"

"He handed me the file and said, 'I know who you are now. I knew there was something odd about you.' What a charmer."

"The plot thickens," the Doctor mused.

"Anyway, you know who these L.I.N.D.A people are?"

"Yep. They're my fan club."

Rose spluttered her tea. "Your _what?"_

"My fan club."

She burst out laughing. "You have a fun club," she stated, amused. "Should've known."

"Yes, well, anyway, this Victor Kennedy bloke looks a bit suspicious, don't you think? He's appeared out of nowhere."

"Exactly. What do you reckon? He just some random guy or has he got _sinister motives?" _Rose asked, her eyes lighting up.

"You needn't look so enthused by the idea," the Doctor chuckled, though of course, he was delighted that Rose was so intrigued.

"Well, we could go check it out, and - "

"No," he said firmly, interrupting her. "He looks shifty. I'm not having you go anywhere near him."

"Doctor!" she groaned. "I'm so bored. Please let me come with you."

"You can't travel in the TARDIS - "

"We can get a cab!"

"No."

"Doctor, look, if they are just your fan club - "

"Except that with the sudden appearance of this man, they don't appear to be harmless anymore. Look at these photos, Rose. Your boss has been watching them watch _you. _And look, here's your mother! You really think that there's no danger here, when they've been trying to hunt me down through you and your family?"

"Okay, fine, I know that it could be dangerous. But that's the point! I'm bored with just sitting around waiting. I need to _do _something, and I need to help you in case you end up getting hurt."

"Rose, you can't possibly think it's a good idea. What if something happens to you or the baby? We'd never forgive ourselves. No. It's better if I check this out on my own."

"But you wouldn't have known about it if it wasn't for me -"

He rolled his eyes and stood up. "Then thank you for the tip-off. I'll sort this. They won't be coming near our family again, all right?" And with that, he strode from the room, ignoring Rose's shouts of protest.

* * *

That night, just as Rose got into bed, she heard the front door open. Groaning in annoyance, she stood up and walked out onto the landing, about to call out a greeting to the Doctor and demand him to tell her what he'd found out.

Except that it wasn't the Doctor in the hallway. Rose stifled a gasp and quickly retreated to her room, keeping her footsteps soft so as not to alert the intruder to her whereabouts. Two opposing instincts warred within her; the instinct to confront the stranger lost out to the instinct to protect her unborn child. She reached for her mobile, and dialled the number of the phone Rose had made the Doctor carry around with him in case of emergencies.

"Hello, Rose," the Doctor answered cheerfully on the other end of the phone. "Guess what, I found out that – wait, what's wrong? Is something wrong? What's happened?"

"Shh, just listen," Rose whispered. "You need to get to the house quickly. Someone's broken in downstairs."

"What! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm in my room."

"Okay, right, stay there, I'm on my way – are you ringing from the same day as when I left earlier to find out about L.I.N.D.A?"

"Yes."

"Okay, good. I'm still here, so it's the same time for me. I'll be as quick as I can. _Don't _go downstairs."

He hung up, and Rose tossed the phone onto the bed and crept over to the door and onto the landing again, peeking through the banisters to see if she could see or hear anything.

There was a rustling sound followed by a pile of washing being knocked over. Rose knew this because she heard the man mutter and curse about it being the second time that day that he'd had knickers waved in his face. She arched an eyebrow, bemused. Then she heard the man repeating, "God, I hate this. I hate this I hate this I hate this. This is so wrong. I hate him, I hate this, ouch – bugger – stupid _bloody_ coffee table."

Rose stifled a giggle. He sounded like the most incompetent burglar ever. And she suspected he was a member of L.I.N.D.A, because she caught a better sight of him when he stumbled back into the hallway; he resembled a man in one of the pictures her boss had given her. Blond and normal-looking. Harmless. Rose decided to go downstairs.

"Ahem," she coughed pointedly, as she found him rifling through her hallway table, where she kept her bills and other bits of post and things.

The man spun around and stared at her with wide eyes. "Oh! I'm – that is – I'm – I'm not - " he stammered. Then he sighed, heavily. "I'm sorry."

"I know who you are," Rose said quietly, lingering on the bottom step of the stairs. "Your name's Elton. You've been stalking me and my mother, taking photos. Why?"

He winced. "Me and some people – my friends – we had this club thing designated to talking about the Doctor. But there's this new bloke, he's…it's not fun anymore. I told me that I had to break in to see if I could find any clues to the Doctor's whereabouts. We know that you are together, and he reckoned the best way to find the Doctor was through…you."

Rose nodded. "I see. And why exactly do you need the Doctor?"

Elton blinked at her, speechless.

"I mean, is someone in danger? Does someone need help?"

He stood silent.

"Or do you want him for a darker reason? Are you trying to kill him?"

"No!"

"Are you going to kill _me?"_

"No, of course not!"

"Then why the sudden interest in me and my family?" Rose demanded, crossing her arms.

"I – I – "

"Fair enough that you formed a little fan group for him. But coming after him and me and our _baby? _Big mistake, Elton Pope."

"I'm really sorry. Really."

"You reckon you were forced into this by that Victor bloke?"

"Yeah – wait, how do you know his name?"

"I have my own spy, spying on you lot. The Doctor left here earlier to seek you all out and put a stop to your stalking."

"I'm sorry."

"Hmm."

"Really, I am, Rose. I never wanted – it's just – oh, I dunno. Victor's very…domineering. We couldn't help but do as he said."

"Okay. Well, the Doctor will sort him out. Talking of the Doctor, he's gonna be here in a minute, and he's gonna be very, very angry that you broke into my house and posed a threat to his family, so you'd better leg it unless you want to risk being on the receiving end of his wrath."

Elton's face paled. "Right, well, okay, I'll just - "

But just as he started to back towards the front door, it swung open, and the Doctor came storming in. Elton looked at him in wonder, half-scared, half-relieved to have finally seen him in the flesh.

And then the Doctor, looking very, very angry – just as Rose had predicted – seized Elton by the shoulders and flung him outside. He turned to Rose and admonished, "I told you to wait upstairs!" before following Elton into the front garden and slamming the front door shut.

Rose sighed, hearing shouts from outside. She was going to have to intervene.

Following the boys outside in her night dress, Rose called out to the Doctor, "It's all right. I've interrogated him already. Now, are you gonna let me sort this out with you or what?"

"Rose, this man broke into your _home -_"

"And I've sorted it. The real bad guy here is Victor Kennedy, not Elton."

Elton smiled at her gratefully and shakily.

"Fine. Elton, take us to Mr Kennedy please. I presume you brought a car with you."

"One sec, let me grab my coat," said Rose.

"You're coming out in your nightdress, then?" the Doctor asked, raising his eyebrows.

Rose grabbed her longest coat off the hook just inside the front door, and put it on, fastening all the buttons. "Yep. Let's go."

* * *

Upon meeting Victor Kennedy in his true form, just as he was about to absorb poor Ursula, and after Rose had remarked that he looked rather Slitheen-ish, it emerged that he was in fact from the planet Clom. A brief stand-off ensued - the Doctor, an indignant Rose, and Elton on one side – with the Absorbaloff, as he had agreed to be named, on the other, threatening Ursula's life as she knelt in front of him, horrified. He had already absorbed the other members of L.I.N.D.A.

Fortunately, those members of L.I.N.D.A were a bright bunch. They gave the last remnants of their existence to effectively pull apart the Absorbaloff. Ursula broke his cane and he was fittingly absorbed by the Earth.

After which, the four people stared at the ground in disbelief.

"Wow," murmured Rose eventually.

That seemed to spark them all back to life. "I can't believe that just happened," gasped Elton, and then he was running to envelope Ursula in his arms. "I thought I was going to lose you."

Rose and the Doctor shared a smile at the sight. Then, the Time Lord's smile faded, and he said, "You shouldn't have put yourself in danger like that."

"Doctor - "

"It was bad enough when it was just _you _at risk. You're five months pregnant, Rose."

"I know. And I'm fine."

"Yes. Luckily," he remarked tersely.

Rose shivered. "Can we go home? Looks like those two need some alone time."

"Yeah. I do have to speak with Elton about something, though."

"What's that?"

"Well, I knew his mother." Rose's eyes widened and he laughed at her horrified expression. "No, Rose. I should clarify – I didn't _know _her, as such, but I did find her dead in her sitting room when Elton was just a little boy."

Rose gasped. "What?"

"Long story short, I was tracking something, and it killed her before I could stop it. I think he deserves an explanation."

"Yeah." She paused, glancing around them. "Maybe we should invite them back to talk, instead of standing out here in the middle of the night. Plus, we need a lift back, and he'll be too emotional to drive us home if you tell him now."

"Good thinking. Let's do that."


	9. Chapter 9

~ Part 9 ~

::

Rose chomped on a spoonful of Shreddies and reached for the remote, flicking the channel to BBC1 to watch the news. Her eyes promptly widened and she almost choked on her cereal.

The Royal Hope Hospital had, apparently, been to the moon. And she'd _missed _it.

She set aside her bowl and got to her feet as quickly as her protruding belly would allow. Because she may have been relaxing in a nice bubble bath during the hospital's unexpected journey into space, but there was one thing she'd bet the house on; the Doctor had been involved somehow.

As Rose grabbed her coat and keys, she felt the baby kick, and so she briefly rested her palm on her tummy. "Don't worry," she murmured. "I'm just going to double check Daddy hasn't got hurt."

* * *

"Thank you, Martha Jones," the Doctor said gratefully, as he stood with the doctor-in-training outside the hospital she had helped him to save.

"You're welcome," she replied with a grin. "And thank _you. _Listen, I was wondering – "

Before she could say anything further, she noticed that she'd lost his attention; he was looking over her shoulder at something, a small smile on his face. She turned around and saw a rather pregnant woman ambling towards them with a worried expression. Jumping into almost-doctor mode, anxious that the woman was in pain, Martha hurriedly called out to her, "Is everything all right? How far along are you?"

"Almost six months," answered the Doctor quietly, and Martha turned to him in surprise.

The woman reached them, then. "Thank god," she murmured, looking him over and assessing for any damage.

"So you do care," he said in response.

"Only because you're the father of my child," she replied, folding her arms in a huff.

Martha gaped at them, but they didn't appear to notice.

"How did you know I was here?"

"You said last night that you thought something suspicious was going on. When I turned on the news just now and saw all this commotion about it disappearing to the bloody moon, I knew you'd be here."

He beamed at her in delight. "And you thought that you'd come and check that I was okay."

"I thought that I'd come and check you were okay," she nodded in agreement, "Because if you weren't then I was going to have to find another doctor, and that would cause all kinds of hassle."

"You can't fool me," he sing-songed happily, tucking his hands in his pockets and rocking back on his heels. He glanced at Martha, who was staring at them in shock. "Oh! Sorry, Martha, how rude of me. Martha Jones, Rose Tyler. Rose Tyler, Martha Jones."

"Pleased to meet you," said Rose, holding out her hand.

"And you," Martha replied, shaking her hand with wide eyes. She cleared her throat. "I didn't realise you had a wife," she said to the Doctor.

"Oh, we're not married," was his jovial response.

Rose added, "We aren't actually together."

"Hey! Don't be too hasty about that," he said with a frown, before assuring Martha, "We're just on a break."

"Doctor," Rose sighed.

"Nothing wrong with being optimistic, Rose Tyler," he countered.

"I'm so confused," Martha murmured.

"Martha here saved the world," the Doctor told Rose.

Rose smiled at her and said, "Then thank you."

"Um. That's okay. I didn't really do anything – "

"Nonsense! You brought me back to life!"

"You _died?" _Rose demanded, whirling back around to him.

He tugged on his ear. "Uh, well…"

"He was just a little short of breath," Martha put in, trying to salvage the situation.

"Yes, that's right," he nodded quickly. "We were running out of oxygen, and Martha knew that I could stop the Plasmavore if I survived, so she foolishly but in the end rather fortunately risked her own life and restarted my respiratory bypass."

Rose eyed him suspiciously for a moment. "She gave you the kiss of life, didn't she."

"She did, yeah," he relented.

"Next time you go nearly getting yourself killed, let me know first, right? Just so I know to tell this baby whether his father was an idiot with a death wish or that he'd just done a runner."

Martha started to back away, unwilling to get drawn into this apparent domestic. "Anyway, I'll be off…"

"You don't have to go, Martha," Rose said. "In fact, maybe you ought to get a proper thank-you for saving all of us." She widened her eyes meaningfully at the Doctor, who was staring at his girlfriend-or-whatever-she-was blankly. "TARDIS trip?" she prompted.

He frowned. "Oh, but Martha's training to be a doctor. She hasn't got time for that."

"It's a time machine, you doughnut," Rose retorted. She turned to Martha. "Have you seen the TARDIS yet?"

"What's the TARDIS?"

"It's a time-and-spaceship," Rose grinned. "It's amazing. Come on, we'll show you!"

"Rose – " the Doctor said, in a huff, but followed her and Martha when she started making her way over to the blue box.

Rose quickly unlocked the doors and led Martha inside.

"Oh. My. God."

"I know."

"It's – it's – " she floundered. "It's bigger on the inside!"

Both Rose and the Doctor mouthed the words along with her, then noticed what each other was doing and burst out laughing.

"I thought after what I'd seen today, nothing could shock me," Martha said, running her eyes across the console room in astonishment. "But _this. _This is just…"

"Yep," grinned the Doctor proudly.

Rose smiled.

* * *

After a short while explaining about the TARDIS to Martha, the Doctor and Rose left her sitting on the jumpseat to process it all whilst they conversed in hushed voices on the other side of the console room.

"I think you should invite her to travel with you," Rose said.

His eyebrows leapt up his forehead. "But Rose - "

"You need someone to keep an eye on you," she said quietly. "I'd feel better if she was with you."

He looked dubious. "Really?"

"Really. And she deserves to see what's out there, don't you think? And from what you've told me about today, she seems really capable – the perfect candidate. Yeah?"

"Yeah, obviously, and I'm sure she'd be great fun to have along, but…" He lowered his voice, "Rose, I'd feel…odd. Travelling with someone else, while you're not with me."

"You can still visit whenever you want."

"Yeah, but…" He still sounded reluctant.

"You need a friend. Martha's the answer."

He sighed. "She might not even want to come."

"But if she does?"

He considered it silently for a few moments, then relented. "Fine. Okay. I'll ask her. But you need to talk to her first."

"Why?"

"You need to tell her about us. About our…situation. She's confused. And there's no way I'm gonna talk about it, so you'll have to."

"Doctor - "

"She needs to know that you were the exception," he said impatiently. "I kissed her earlier for genetic transfer purposes and I'm worried that she might've got the wrong idea."

Rose rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, Rose, please just tell her."

"What do you want me to say, exactly?"

"Tell her that I'm in love with you and that we're going to be getting back together eventually."

"Doctor - "

"Please? It'll make things a hell of a lot easier. Oh, and tell her that I don't make a habit of impregnating my friends."

Rose couldn't help but laugh. "Right. Okay." She shook her head at him in amusement. "Sometimes I forget how wonderfully daft you can be."

"Is that a compliment?"

"Mmm."

"Thank you." He gave her a silly smile. "Can I have a hug?"

She smiled back and nodded, wrapping her arms around his waist when he pulled her close. He rested his cheek on the top of her head, inhaling the scent of her hair.

"When would you like me to visit next?"

"Friday?" she suggested.

"Okay." He drew back halfway, pausing to drop a quick kiss to her forehead. "You go and talk to Martha first, then I'll ask her, all right? And I'll see you soon."


	10. Chapter 10

~ Part 10 ~

::

Rose took Martha outside of the TARDIS to talk to her in the open air, away from the Doctor. She wanted her to consider the offer without feeling pressured.

"I know it's a lot to take in," Rose started carefully. "And I know this sounds daft, _but, _it's really easy to get used to it all. The TARDIS herself, the travelling, the different worlds and the aliens…it's scary at first, but it's surprising how quickly it becomes familiar. How quickly it becomes everything you never dreamed you could have, and everything you could ever want."

Martha watched Rose say her piece with so much enthusiasm that she felt a little of her obvious joy seep into her own frame of mind. "You really love it?"

"Yeah," Rose nodded, grinning at her new friend. "God, yeah. It's fantastic. Seeing all that stuff…standing up and _doing _things when people need help…it's a brilliant way to live life."

"But you don't do it anymore," Martha pointed out.

Rose sighed. "I didn't expect to have to give it up so soon, no. But one day, I'll be back out there. And I don't mind this so much, the domestic side of things I mean – it wasn't planned, the settling down and the pregnancy. It just happened. But I'm happy now. It's weird; my life has changed so much, so quickly. But I love it. It's just a different type of adventure, I s'pose. That's what the Doctor tries to tell me, anyway." She laughed, and placed her hands on her bump. "I can't wait to meet this little one, though."

"Are you completely human?" Martha blurted out.

Rose sent her a puzzled look. "Yeah."

"And you're…pregnant, with his baby?" Martha said slowly, as though that fact hadn't been clarified about an hour ago.

"Yep."

"Is that even possible?"

"Evidently," Rose grinned.

"But…is it safe?"

"So far, it seems to be, yeah."

"Sorry for all these questions, I'm just trying to understand. It's all a bit…"

"Like it's out of some sci-fi film? Yeah, tell me about it," Rose snorted in amusement.

"He said you two were on a break. Is that true?"

Rose hesitated. "I'm not sure. I think so. I – I still - " she broke off. "He still loves me, and I suppose it's kind of inevitable that somewhere down the line we'll end up together again. Not that I tell him that," she added hurriedly.

"Why aren't you together at the moment?" Martha asked, then looked embarrassed. "Sorry, that's personal…"

"It's all right. Um. Well it's kind of a long story. I wasn't so sure that I could trust him to stick around, basically."

"But he has?"

"So far, yeah."

"And you still want to travel with him?"

"I can't, not while I'm pregnant. It could be dangerous for the baby."

"But you want to."

"Well, yeah. But I'm learning to be patient about it," Rose replied.

"How will a baby fit in with all the travelling?"

"No idea. We haven't thought that far ahead. I suppose we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." She paused, then added, "In the meantime…"

"Yeah?"

"Well. He needs some company. It gets lonely, travelling time and space; it's better with two."

Martha lifted her eyebrows. "Are you suggesting that I go with him?"

"Yeah, I am."

"But…"

"But what?"

Martha glanced at the TARDIS warily.

"It's not always safe," Rose admitted. "But it's always great fun. You seem to be the adventurous type. You'll love it."

"But…"

"Yeah?"

"Would the Doctor even want me along?"

"I've talked to him about it. He's eager for some companionship."

"He said that?" Martha asked dubiously.

"Well, no. But I know what's best for him, and right now he needs a friend. I do have to warn you, though, he visits me every few days or so, so it won't be all whizzing about. He pops in for tea and check-ups and the occasional shopping trip. You won't mind that, will you?"

"I haven't said I'm going, yet," Martha retorted.

"Hypothetically-speaking, then, would you mind him coming back to me a few times a week?"

"Hypothetically-speaking, of course I wouldn't mind. You're his girlfriend, after all."

Rose coughed awkwardly. "Well, sort of."

"I personally think that he should be with you all the time," Martha said. "After all, you are carrying a half-alien baby. Anything could happen - "

"Yeah, well, he's got a responsibility to the universe as well as me. Besides, he'd drive me up the wall if he was in my house with me constantly – he's not so good with enclosed spaces that aren't bigger on the inside."

Martha smiled sympathetically. "Are you sure about all this, Rose?"

"Please say you'll go with him," Rose said hopefully. "He needs someone to be there to help him, and to show things to, and to stop him if he makes a not-so-human decision."

"I don't know, though," Martha said, shrugging a shoulder. "I'd feel weird about it because I'd keep thinking that he was thinking that you ought to be there instead."

"Well there's nothing we can do about that," Rose reasoned. "And if he makes you feel like second-best then you have my full encouragement to punch him in the face."

Martha laughed and glanced at the TARDIS again. "It's a pretty amazing opportunity. I mean, not many people get an offer to see space."

"And time," Rose added with a grin.

"And time," Martha agreed. "Oh my god, this is mad."

"But you'll go?"

"Maybe…for a trip or two."

Rose squealed and grabbed Martha into a hug. "Thank you for saying that. Obviously I know you are utterly wrong because two trips will inevitably turn into a hundred and so on, but seriously, you won't regret this."

"I still don't know why you're so eager for the father of your baby to go off travelling with another woman," Martha said, returning Rose's hug before pulling back.

"Oh! That reminds me," Rose realised. "He told me that I had to tell you something very, very important."

"Oh dear. What's that?"

Rose smiled enigmatically before replying, "He said that you needn't worry; he doesn't make a habit out of getting his friends pregnant."

Martha's eyes popped out of her head and she swatted Rose's arm playfully. "I should hope not!" she laughed.

"I should also say that he doesn't exactly realise what other people are thinking or feeling sometimes. If you find yourself fancying him - and believe me, I know that it's very easy to do so I won't blame you for it, in fact you probably already do - anyway, if you find yourself in that position, he probably won't even realise. So, um, if that's awkward, then sorry on his behalf. He's an idiot sometimes."

"I can't believe you're making pre-emptive apologies for him," Martha giggled.

"Well someone has to," Rose said, a mischievous twinkle in her eye.


	11. Chapter 11

~ Part 11 ~

::

Within a few weeks, it became apparent that Martha Jones was an asset as part of Team TARDIS. Well. He said Team TARDIS - that was what he was calling it in his head, although two people hardly constituted a team. But in the future, once Rose joined them again - hopefully - then he'd be able to call it that without feeling like a doughnut. Anyway, the point was, Martha was a star and he was glad he'd invited her along, because she was a dab hand in a crisis and she'd adapted very well to her new lifestyle.

She was also very good at putting up with his moaning.

"Sometimes, it really, really hurts, you know?" he mumbled, one evening in the TARDIS galley, rubbing a hand over his face tiredly. "I see her practically every other day but I just…"

"You miss her," Martha murmured, handing him a cup of tea. "I know."

The Doctor met her concerned gaze. "I really messed it up."

"What did you actually do?" she asked carefully. "It's just, you seem so…I don't know, _good, _together. I can't imagine how you could have caused her to lose her trust in you."

He winced, and sipped at his tea before answering. "Um. Well, there was this woman -"

Martha's mug clunked to the table, thankfully not spilling much of its contents. "You're kidding me?" she interrupted, with a gasp and a reproachful look.

"It's not what you think!" he said hurriedly. She folded her arms and he gulped. "No, really, it's not what you think."

"I thought you were different," she tutted. "I mean, all you ever talk about is Rose, and all you ever look at when you're around her is Rose. And you never seem to notice any other women on our travels in a way _remotely _like how you notice her, not even when you took me to see your friend Helen of bloody Troy, and all along - "

"For goodness' sake, Martha, are you going to let me explain myself?" he demanded impatiently as she railed against him.

She closed her mouth and raised her eyebrows in a manner that clearly stated, _You'd better hurry._

He cleared his throat purposefully and began with a question, "Have you ever heard of Madame de Pompadour?"

"Yes," she replied. "What's she got to do – oh my god. Did you have an affair with Louis XV's _mistress?"_

"No!" he exclaimed. He rubbed at the back of his neck uncomfortably. "She just kissed me, that's all."

Martha stared at him icily.

"I promise! Blimey, you'd think it was you I'd scorned, the look you're giving me!"

"Well, Rose is my friend."

"_I'm _your friend, too," he huffed.

"Yeah, but Rose didn't have a fling with a French courtesan, did she," Martha huffed right back, making it very clear where her allegiance stood in this matter.

"Neither did I!" he insisted, rolling his eyes. "Martha - "

"It must've been more than just a kiss," she reasoned. "For it to cause the destruction of your relationship."

The Doctor heaved a sigh. "Rose was under the misapprehension that I cared for Reinette more than I ought."

"Oh, 'Reinette' now, is it?" Martha snorted.

"_Martha," _he whined. "Look, she was in trouble and I helped her, all right?" He shifted in his seat awkwardly. "It's just that to do so I had to leave Rose and Mickey – you remember Mickey, that bloke I told you about, Rose's ex-boyfriend – anyway, I had to leave them on a spaceship thing in the future, _but _I always planned on going back! Didn't quite know how I was going to do so, but I _never _would have abandoned Rose forever on purpose. Ever."

"Couldn't she have gone with you?"

"Arthur probably couldn't have carried us both _and _gotten through the mirror," he mused.

"Arthur?" Martha said in confusion.

"The horse."

She made an understanding sound, something like, "Mm_hmm."_

"What?" he asked defensively.

"You rode in like a knight in shining armour to rescue your damsel in distress, and you didn't think Rose might get the wrong idea?" she asked, rather patronisingly.

"For a start, she was hardly a damsel in distress – Reinette was quite the accomplished member of court, you know - "

"I don't bloody _care _how accomplished she was!" Martha nearly shrieked. "Don't you realise what you're even saying? God, Rose was right. You are an idiot. I'm surprised she managed to put up with you as long she did in the first place."

He stared at her in bafflement. "What?"

"I'm going to tell you a story," Martha said next, in a determined voice. "Once upon a time, I met a patient in a hospital who turned out not to be a patient but rather a time-travelling alien – _don't _interrupt," she warned, as he looked like he was about to, "And this alien didn't look like an alien, but rather human – _fine, _humans look Time Lord, whatever," she added in, as he looked ready to correct her, "_Anyway, _the alien and I saved the entire hospital that day, and during the process the alien kissed me – I know, I know, it was a 'genetic transfer,'" she said quickly, as he was about to interrupt her, "And during the whole adventure, I proper fancied the alien. I'm talking major crush alert. Oh for goodness' sake, don't look _smug, _that's not the point of this story - "

"I can't help it if I'm quite dashing," he grinned, adjusting his tie.

She rolled her eyes. "_Anyway, _I'm not the sort of person who has crushes like that – not since I was fourteen, anyway, with Mr Roberts my chemistry teacher. Now _there _was a man with the right combination of intellect and charisma." She looked wistful, suddenly.

"Is this going anywhere?" the Doctor asked.

"Sorry, got distracted there. The point is, despite me being a little, um, let's say, _surprised _about you being an alien and everything, I was thinking about asking you out for a drink."

He arched an eyebrow.

Martha quickly continued, "But then Rose showed up, all pregnant and everything, and you looked at her like I've never seen you look at anyone else, not me, not Helen of Troy, not even the TARDIS. And suddenly I realised that the pair of you had inadvertently cured me of my crush – well, mostly, anyway – because whatever attraction I felt towards you that day pales so completely and utterly in comparison to what you feel for her."

"Right…"

"So what I'm trying to say is, _what the bloody hell were you thinking?!"_

He jumped in surprise. "What?"

"How can you be so incredibly in love with Rose and yet get off with 'Reinette?'" she asked, even using air quotation marks around the Frenchwoman's name.

"I didn't 'get off' with her!"

"You just said you kissed her!"

"_She_ kissed _me!"_

"But you probably kissed back, am I right?" He looked sheepish so she continued, "And she was probably beautiful, am I right?"

He sighed. "Martha - "

"And I'm also betting that considering she was practically royalty from the eighteenth century, she was dressed all refined and elegant? And she was probably a very nice lady, one who was sophisticated and easy to like? And at no point whilst you were conversing with this epitome of stylish loveliness did you consider that Rose might feel a _little _inadequate in comparison?"

Now he was angry. "Oi, look here, Martha, Rose is in no _way _inadequate in comparison to _anyone, _thank you very much - "

"You don't have to tell _me _that, you plonker!" Martha exclaimed. "I'm not saying that she is! I'm saying that watching you pander to the attentions of a posh French aristocrat may have made Rose feel a little bit like she was second best, you know, considering that up 'til then you'd been loving her, and yet suddenly when some new and shiny and intelligent woman comes along, you drop her like a hot potato."

He gaped at her in astonishment.

Martha leant back in her chair and held up her hands. "But then I wasn't there, so correct me if I'm in any way mistaken in my assumptions. I am, after all, basing this on both my history lessons and my knowledge of Rose's past rather than an eye-witness account."

He cleared his throat. "I was thoughtless, and tactless, I get that. I do. And I apologised to Rose for it. Repeatedly. But you have to believe me, I never wanted to hurt her. And I certainly didn't _love _Reinette. And Rose knows that." He swallowed hard. "Why can't she just forgive me, Martha? I know I behaved without thought to her feelings that day, because I was all caught up in the adventure and excitement, but I've been trying to make it up to her, and I've been trying to show her how much I love her, you said yourself how obvious it is, and we have a _baby _coming, for Rassilon's sake. Why won't she forgive me?"

Martha sighed sadly. "I expect she has forgiven you," she admitted. "But she still needs time to process that."

"I just want her to love me again," he mumbled, closing his eyes.

"Were you tempted?" Martha murmured.

"Tempted to do what?"

"To be with Reinette instead of Rose?"

His eyes shot open. "No!" he insisted vehemently. "No. I'm quite painfully aware that Rose is the love of my life. I can't walk away from her indefinitely. I never will be able to."

"Then, in time, she'll love you again," Martha said, with confidence. "I'm sure of it."

"How? How can you be so sure?"

"Because I can see it in her face every time we visit. It's there, lingering, still, even after you being a git. And it'll be there when you hold your baby for the first time. And it'll be there when you are showing her what a great father you are. And it'll be there when you ask her to marry you."

The Doctor scraped his chair back as he jerked backwards in surprise. "What did you just say?"

"Oh blimey, don't go asking her _yet," _she said hurriedly. "God, no. No. You have to wait at least a year."

"I legitimately have no idea what you are saying," he gulped.

"I'm _saying _that at some point, a very happy Jackie Tyler is going to be planning her only daughter's first wedding."

He stared at her speechlessly for a few moments. And then his eyes grew very alarmed. "Hold on, what do you mean _first? _I'll not go through a human wedding ceremony twice, not even for Rose."

"Nah, I just meant that one trip to visit Cleopatra or whoever and Rose'll divorce you quick as anything, might find herself a nice, decent human bloke to raise her future offspring."

The Doctor growled, "Firstly, Cleo and I have a _strictly _platonic relationship, thank you very much, and secondly, Rose will definitely _not _be bearing children that are not mine, nor will she ever marry anyone else."

"So you've accepted the fact that a wedding between you two is inevitable, then," Martha grinned triumphantly.

"Well, if it'll appease everyone and Rose wants to, then I suppose so," he sniffed, and then grumbled to himself about human rituals and tradition.

"Have you been married before?"

"Yes."

"Then it's not just a human ritual and tradition then, is it?" she replied pointedly. Then her eyes widened. "Hold on, _really? _You? _Married?"_

He shifted awkwardly. "Well, it was a bit, er…"

"What? Shotgun?" she grinned mischievously.

"No! More like arranged without my encouragement."

"Blimey, what a romantic."

"Weddings on Gallifrey were more political than romantic, it has to be said."

"Sounds awful."

"Meh, it kept the peace," he shrugged.

"Did you love her?"

"Who?"

She rolled her eyes. "Your wife on Gallifrey."

"Oh. Well, yes, I suppose so."

"You 'suppose so?'" Martha snorted.

"I grew fond of her, but it wasn't exactly a passionate thing."

"As opposed to you and Rose," Martha smirked.

"Yes, well, there's not really much of that going on at the moment with Rose, either," he grumbled.

"Too much information, mister."

"Sorry."


	12. Chapter 12

~ Part 12 ~

::

A few weeks later, Rose enlisted the Doctor and Martha to help her decorate the nursery.

"Are you sure you don't mind helping us?" Rose asked Martha. "He didn't drag you into this under false pretences, did he?"

Martha laughed, then squeezed Rose's arm reassuringly. "I'm glad to help, honestly."

"Thank you." She held out two tins of paint. "Which colour do you like best?"

Martha eyed the magnolia versus the slightly darker than magnolia shades. "Um…that one?"

Rose beamed. "That's what I thought, too."

The Doctor watched upon this exchange from the doorway to the spare room in Rose's house, a small smile on his face and a giddy feeling in his chest. Rose really was at her most attractive when she was excited over something, and recently those things were mostly to do with the baby. They had been shopping earlier that day and purchased a beautiful cot. He didn't tell her that he'd already made one; that was a surprise for when she and the baby joined him on the TARDIS again. He also refrained from telling her that the TARDIS herself had created a room for the baby with an adjoining door to their room. He'd have to wait for the right moment before breaking that to her, in case she thought he was rushing things.

But first things first, they had to paint this room. Then, he would help her construct the cot and other furniture, and position it where she wanted. He had been looking forward to today for a long time, and he hoped that Martha meant it when she said that she didn't mind. He didn't want to bore her, but she seemed genuinely excited for Rose and him. She'd become a good friend, and he was glad that Rose had talked him into inviting her onto the TARDIS.

Martha glanced around, then, and saw the Doctor's expression. She figured that they could use a brief bit of alone time, so she hatched a plan. "Right, you two get started," she said. "And I'll go and make some tea and see if I can find that other paint roller."

"Thanks, Martha," smiled Rose. Martha hurried out of the room, shooting the Doctor a knowing look.

The Doctor cleared his throat and Rose turned around, handing him the paint. "Could you empty that into those trays? I'm gonna quickly change into an old shirt so that I don't ruin my clothes. You ought to do that too."

"It's all right, I'll wear an apron," he grinned. She grinned back and nodded, then nipped to her room to change. She was back before he'd even finished sorting out the paint. Glancing up at her, his breath hitched and he spilt the pot a little. It was very unfair that Rose always looked so gorgeous.

Tying her hair back, Rose surveyed the room. "Right, I'll start there," she said, pointing at one of the walls. "And you start there, and we'll meet in the middle. And then Martha can start on the other one when she comes back." She placed a hand on her bump. "Yeah?"

He realised with a jerk that she wanted him to respond. He'd been too busy staring – first at her face, then at her stomach. "Sure," he said distractedly. She really did look very good in that white shirt. He had memorises of that shirt. Good memories. She used to wear it in bed. Now, of course, she had leggings on with it, because it only came down to mid-thigh. But before, she'd wandered around the halls of the TARDIS –

"Doctor?" she prompted. "You gonna get started or what?"

"Yes, right! Okdokey." He jumped up and handed her a paint roller. "Bet I can finish my bit before you."

"Bet you can't," she scoffed.

"How much?"

"Fiver."

"Tenner?"

"Done."

The battle commenced. The Doctor and Rose, not above the childish desire of sabotage, tried to win by ruining the other's progress. The first move was his; he crept up behind her and then jogged her arm, so that the roller accidentally moved across the window pane. "Oi!" she shouted, but she was laughing. She noticed that he had taken off his suit jacket but was still wearing his shirt and tie. A devilish glint came into her eyes and he panicked, backing away.

"Oh, no, no no no, you don't have to stoop _that _low, Rose," he reasoned. She advanced on him with the paint roller in hand, backing him into the corner of the room. She grabbed his tie to lift it out of the way – she liked that tie - and rolled the paint down his shirtfront. He yelped; it was cold, and now his shirt was ruined, and she was _evil. _"Oh, you'll pay for that, Rose Tyler," he growled, then picked up a brush, dunked it into the paint, and painted a magnolia streak down her nose. She was all giggles, apparently unperturbed by this, so he upped the ante and continued a path down her chin and neck, right down to her exposed sternum where the shirt collar gaped open. She stopped giggling.

They stared at each other for a few moments in utter silence. Then, she glanced down at herself, saw where he'd left his mark, saw where he was still clutching the paintbrush close to her skin, and gulped. "Big mistake," she murmured, and for a frightening moment he thought she was going to back away from their game, thought he'd gone too far and bloody well pushed her away again. But she merely meant she was going to get her own back, and get it she did; by rolling the paint right down the front of his trousers. He gaped at her in shock, and she smirked.

He cleared his throat and tried to show her that she hadn't won. "If you wanted to touch me, Rose, you could've just said so. Save going to the trouble of engineering _this _nefarious plot," he remarked casually, tapping the paint roller that was lightly pressing into his crotch.

"You started it!" she retorted with a glare, snatching her hand back. She dropped the paint roller onto the floor; luckily, they had already put old fabric on the wooden panelling to stop spillages. "I was just giving you a taste of your own medicine."

"Sure you were," he replied, taking a step towards her. The curve of her bump prevented him getting too close, but he was close enough to see her swallow.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she countered, visibly breathless. His hand found hers, his fingertips stroking across her wrist, and she flinched in surprise. But she didn't pull away. His other hand came up to her face, and his knuckles brushed gently along her cheekbone. She watched his eyes in utter silence.

"You're so beautiful," he breathed. "I don't think you realise just how beautiful you are."

"I'm covered in paint," she pointed out weakly. "And I'm…"

"What?" he asked, when her sentence trailed off.

"Fat."

"Pregnant," he corrected smoothly. "Rose."

"Mmm?"

"I miss you," he whispered.

"You see me all the time," she whispered back.

"It's not the same."

"Yeah."

"I know you're not - " he started, then stopped, biting his lip.

"Not what?" she prompted.

"I know you're not ready, for things to – for me to – for us to see each other more," he stammered. "But I just…I miss…"

"Just this once," she blurted. "Just this once, and then we wait until I'm more ready."

"What do you mean?"

"You can kiss me. Now. Just this once. Just to – to – I dunno."

"Tide us over?" he suggested, arching an eyebrow critically.

"Well…I guess. Yeah."

"You want me to kiss you."

"Now? Yes. Permanently? Not yet."

He nodded. "Right, right."

"Are you gonna?"

The Doctor tilted his head to the side. "If you're sure."

"I'm sure." To prove it to him, she rose up on her tiptoes and brought their mouths level. He clutched at her waist to support her movement, then slanted his lips across hers, the pressure gentle. He felt his whole body relax, as though this was all he needed to calm his frayed emotions; it wasn't, quite, because he did want more, and to be fully soothed he suspected he needed things to go back to how they used to be, with Rose by his side, always. But for now, this had to be enough, and he was grateful to her for allowing them this.

Their eyes fluttered closed, and Rose gripped the back of his neck to deepen the kiss. The Doctor couldn't help but groan into her mouth, and one of his hands slid down to cup her bum, pulling her against him as close as possible. When they broke apart to breathe, though, Rose took a few steps backwards, and nearly tripped over the paint roller on the floor. The Doctor's arms shot forward and he grabbed her elbows, allowing her to regain her balance, and they stared at each other, breathing heavily.

"Been a while since we've done that," he remarked quietly, with a cautious smile.

Rose nodded. "Mmm."

He watched her closely for a minute or so, as she picked the paint roller back up and retreated to her side of the room, continuing to paint as though nothing had happened. "You regret it already, don't you," he guessed, resuming his own task.

"No, I just…" she started, then sighed, smearing paint across her forehead as she rubbed it. "I can't let things go back there. Not now."

"Okay."

"I mean, things are good between us at the moment, being friends again. I can't risk - "

"We risked it before," he interjected.

"That was different."

"Was it?"

"Yes. Because I was full of optimism back then. I didn't think you'd hurt me."

"Rose - "

"Look, I know that you're sorry. I get that, I do. But if it wasn't for the baby - " she cut herself off, her voice hitching.

The Doctor frowned, and stepped over to her. "What were you going to say just then?"

She took a steadying breath then met his gaze. "If it wasn't for the baby, you wouldn't have been this patient, would you? You wouldn't've stuck around."


	13. Chapter 13

~ Part 13 ~

::

"You think that I am only here because you're pregnant? You think that if you weren't, it would've been easy for me to walk away from you?" he demanded, folding his arms.

"No, not easy, but I still think you would've." She started rolling the paint across the wall in jerky movements, and he reached out to stop her, fingers tugging on her arm to turn her around again.

"Rose, listen to me. I may not be the most patient man in the universe - "

"No shit," she scoffed.

"_But, _I think you underestimate my ability to adapt. Rose, look at me."

She glanced up.

"I'm here, and I'll be ready and waiting. For however long it takes. All right?"

"You make all these promises," she whispered. "But how will I know that they're really for me?" His face contorted into an expression of frustration and she added, "No, wait, hear me out, yeah? Because I'm carrying part of you, something Time Lord, something from your species and culture and home that was lost to you forever. And I worry that somewhere along the way, I'll be the one that gets lost."

"I don't understand," he murmured, frowning in concern as she struggled to explain what she meant.

"We're painting this room, right, and we've bought all this baby stuff and the cot and everything, but what if – what if - " Tears pooled in her eyes, alarming the Doctor greatly.

He gripped her shoulders. "Tell me what's worrying you, Rose."

She closed her eyes, let out a long breath, and answered, "What if I can't connect to it?"

"I'm sorry?"

"The baby. You'll share all this – this _stuff _with it, the telepathy and your language and everything, and your 'superior biology' – and what if I'm left on my own whilst you two become all you need for each other? What if I get branded as the boring parent, or the bossy parent, or the responsible parent, whilst you get to do all the fun stuff and take him to places I could never?"

"I thought we would do all that stuff _together, _Rose, both of us," he tried to reason.

But she continued, slightly panicky, "What if I can't bond with it? What if I'm no good as a mum and you take the baby and just – and just _leave, _because they'd be no stopping you, really, would there? You could just take off and I would never see either of you again."

"You think I'd _want _that? You think I could possibly ever do that to you? To us? Rassilon, Rose!" He released her shoulders, reeling back on his heels and running his hands through his hair in agitation. "Here's me worrying about the fact that we'll only have sixty years or whatever together, and you're thinking we won't even have that!"

She stepped back in surprise at his angry outburst, overcome with emotion at the way he looked like he would burst into tears if she prodded him further. Her hand came up to rub at her collar bone nervously. She realised they were both still covered in paint; in fact, more paint was on them than on the walls. She also realised that Martha had been gone _ages, _so she must've heard them arguing and left them to it.

And finally, she realised just how much the Doctor loved her. That he was already agonising over the fact that she'd die at some point in the next several decades spoke volumes, and though she wasn't ready for them to jump straight into a relationship again, she could at least accept his feelings for what they were – genuine, and intense.

"I'm sorry," she murmured.

"What?" he snapped, more out of confusion than anything else.

"I said I'm sorry. I'm just - " She bit her lip. "I'm just so scared. I want us and the baby to be happy, but I am so worried that I won't be able to be a good mum, and…" she trailed off, then restarted. "And I guess I'm being paranoid. I know you wouldn't hurt me by taking the baby from me. I'm just scared. That's all. And I think over the last few weeks I've realised how much I'm going to need you. I mean, I could've managed on my own, I suppose, with Mum's help – plenty of people do. But right now I'm so glad that I don't have that daunting prospect hovering over me. Because maybe in the future it'd all work out fine, but right now, I'm terrified, and if I didn't have you – if I didn't know that you'd be there – then I'd be even worse. And, I was worried that I'd get jealous – of you, for being able to communicate with the baby on levels I could never, and of the baby, for you loving it more than me. And I kept thinking that if I'm feeling like that, then…that'd make me an awful parent." She closed her eyes, sighing heavily. "I'm such a mess."

The Doctor wrapped his arms around her, drawing her against him for a hug. Though surprised, she returned it gratefully, sneaking her arms around his waist. He dropped a kiss to the top of her head, and told her, "You're not a mess, and you won't be an awful parent. You're going to be a brilliant mum, I know you are."

"How?" she mumbled grumpily into his paint-ruined shirtfront.

"Because I believe in you."

"Really?"

"Yes. And I worry about the same things, you know; that I'll be rubbish, that parenting will be too difficult, that the baby will love you more. Because why wouldn't it love you more? The best parts of this baby will all be coming from you, Rose Tyler."

"Don't be daft," Rose said, through a short giggle of disbelief.

"Anyway, you needn't worry about the communicating thing. I told you that you'll start to feel the baby's presence in your mind as you progress through the pregnancy. It's probably still just a tickle at the moment so you hardly notice it, but eventually, you'll feel it properly. And so you now seem to have an extensive telepathic ability - odd considering that you're human, but probably thanks to your body adapting to the baby - so I don't see why that wouldn't continue post-birth."

"Really?"

"Indeed, and I can help you strengthen your telepathy even more, if you want me to. The thing is, Rose, we have all these worries, the pair of us, and the main problem is that we don't talk enough about those things – the things that matter."

"I know," she acknowledged quietly.

"It's my fault, that," he continued, swallowing hard. "Because I've pressed things down for so long, hidden feelings and thoughts behind bluster and defences. And although you've made me better at opening up, the fact is, when I – when I hurt you, you started retreating, doing the same things I've always done; bottling things up. And you're right – we're not ready to get back together properly, not until we can sort the communications issue out. And not until you trust me again. And you know what, Rose? That's all right. That's _all right. _Because people go through stuff like this all the time, and they get through it. And I believe in us."

She drew back from his embrace. "All right, then. If you reckon we can do this…"

"We can, and we will."

Rose smiled. "And if you have the patience to take things slowly…"

"I do," he nodded. "I promise you that I do."

"And no more kissing until we've sorted our heads out," she warned.

"Agreed," he replied, with only the slightest bit of hesitation.

"Okay, then. We'd best get this painting done. I wonder if the baby would like it if I painted a blue police box on that wall, after we've done the base coat - "

The Doctor's eyes lit up and he nodded eagerly. "The baby would like that very much." She arched an eyebrow at him and he added, "I can predict these things, you see."

"Then I s'pose I'll have to reawaken my artistic skills," Rose beamed.

* * *

A couple of days later, the Doctor visited again.

"Rose?" he called, as he let himself and Martha into the house via the back door.

She was in the kitchen making dinner. "Hiya," she replied cheerfully. "Want some pasta?"

"Ooh yes please," he grinned, coming up behind her to inspect it. "Looks lovely."

"I've made plenty," she said. "Why don't you take Martha into the dining room and sit down; I'm nearly done."

"Okay," he nodded, but before he went, he dropped a quick kiss to her cheek, and murmured, "Nice to see you."

Rose smiled, and dished up their meal. A few hours passed, filled with good conversation and laughter, and at about ten o'clock Martha made her excuses and retreated to the TARDIS to get some rest. With just the two of them remaining, Rose nodded her head towards the ceiling. The Doctor's eyes widened, and she quickly clarified her point. "No, idiot. I meant, do you want to see the nursery? I finished the painting of the TARDIS."

He jumped up excitedly. "I've never seen your artwork," he said, rubbing his hands together. "I have been looking forward to this."

Rose laughed, and they went upstairs. As soon as the Doctor caught sight of the wall she had painted, he gasped in awe.

"It's perfect," he whispered. "Absolutely perfect." Rose had depicted the TARDIS tilted on her side as though flying amidst the vortex, with swirling blues and reds surrounding the ship, and reflective paint for the odd distant star or two. She was very pleased with the Doctor's reaction. "The baby is going to love this," he continued, his fingertips trailing across the painting delicately. He whirled around and smiled at her. "You're brilliant. I hope our baby inherits your artistic ability."

Rose shrugged modestly, but inside she was thinking, for around about the first time, that maybe she could be a good mum after all.


	14. Chapter 14

~ Part 14 ~

::

Rose was feeling content. Her back ached a bit, but apart from that she was quite enjoying this stage of the pregnancy. As the baby developed, its tickling presence in Rose's mind grew stronger, and it was a huge source of comfort and relief to her. It was a remarkable experience, to feel connected to another living thing like that.

She was also happy with the way things stood between her and the Doctor. His reassurances last week, when she was speaking of all her anxieties about becoming a mum, had done wonders for her self-esteem.

Martha often visited her family when the Doctor was at the house, but sometimes she stayed for tea and a chat with Rose too, which they both enjoyed. It was good to have someone of a similar age to talk to about what life on the TARDIS was like, and Rose could tell that she and Martha were becoming fast friends, which pleased her.

One evening, after a catch-up with Rose, Martha went out to the pub with a few of her medical student mates, so the Doctor made use of their time alone to broach a topic of conversation that he'd been meaning to bring up for a while.

They had retreated to the living room after dinner, and Rose flopped down on the sofa to relax, feeling exhausted but looking radiant, in his opinion.

"I told Martha, by the way," he said quietly, apropos of nothing, as he settled on the sofa next to her.

Rose looked up at him in confusion. "Told her what?"

"About why we aren't together anymore. She asked about it last week, so I ended up telling her all about it."

"Oh. Right."

"Was that okay? That I told her?"

"Of course." She paused. "What did she say?"

"A lot," he winced. "She shouted at me all evening, actually."

Rose grinned. "Good to know I have an ally."

He bumped her shoulder with his. "She felt sorry for me by the end of the discussion."

"Ah, well, you are quite pitiable," she relented. He gaped at her and she laughed at his expression. "I'm kidding."

"No you aren't," he sighed, and nudged her with his shoulder again. "But I concede to your point. I was rather miserable, droning on about my idiocy whilst drowning my sorrows with a cup of tea."

"Tea solves everything," she acknowledged, facing the telly again.

"Should be your mother's slogan, that."

"I think it already is."

"Anyway, my point is, I miss you."

"_Was_ that the point?" she retorted, arching an eyebrow. "Doesn't seem relevant to me."

"Of course it's bloody relevant. Why do you think I was so miserable in the first place?"

"Because you'd run out of bananas?"

"Don't be silly. I am never so daft as to forget to stock up on _bananas."_

Rose giggled. He was delighted by that. He was very glad that he could still make her laugh.

"I miss you being in the TARDIS," he murmured.

She sighed, and rested her head on his shoulder as she continued to look at the television screen rather than him. "I know. You said all this the other day."

"When we kissed."

"When you kissed me," she corrected softly.

"When you _told _me I could kiss you."

"Yes," she relented, with a sigh. They were quiet for a few moments before he asked his next question.

"Do you miss being in the TARDIS?"

"Yes. But the baby…"

"I know." He paused. "Once the baby's born, will you come back?"

"We need to think about what's going to happen then, very, very carefully," she murmured, finally looking at him again. "Our previous way of life is way too dangerous for a child. We were too reckless. We went to places that we knew were trouble. We can't do that with our baby, Doctor. But on the other hand, there are still people who need our help in those dangerous places. And I miss that. I really do. You know how much I thrived on all that danger – as much as you, I reckon."

"I know," he said, with a wistful smile. "You were perfect for me that way."

She swallowed thickly. "But now things have changed."

"Yeah."

"I won't put my baby in danger."

"I won't put our baby in danger either," he retorted.

"So how are we gonna do it? Balance the two sides of our life?"

"The domestic versus the danger?"

"Exactly."

"Hmm. Well, I'm not sure."

"Exactly," Rose said again, sounding sad.

"We'll find a way, Rose."

"Will the baby even be able to be on the TARDIS after it's born? Whilst it's growing up, I mean?"

"Yeah, it's only in the stages of gestation that the vortex might cause problems. Once she's born, she'll be fine to travel."

"She?" Rose grinned.

"I'm pretty convinced," he replied, grinning back. "So. We'll work it out, yeah? And you'll come home?"

"Doctor, we need to establish this house as home for him or her too, because we'll need a base. Somewhere for us to settle. I know that we have to introduce him or her to our way of life as well, because that's part of who she – he - is, and who he'll probably want to be, but we can't travel constantly. He'll need to make friends, friends his own age – at nursery, at school."

He nodded. "I understand. We'll just learn to balance it. It'll be fine, Rose." Then he chuckled. "You really think it's a boy, don't you?"

"Yes," she said emphatically. "So stop tricking me into saying the opposite."

* * *

The Doctor left at around nine-thirty that evening, and just as Rose was about to go up to get some rest, the phone rang. She answered it promptly; it was Shareen.

"Hey honey!" Shareen greeted on the other end of the line. "How are you?"

Rose raised her eyebrows in surprise. Shareen had barely spoken to her since she'd told her she was pregnant. "I'm…I'm great, ta. You?"

"Oh, I'm good, yeah. So, I was wondering whether I could come around for a chat? Feel like we need a catch-up, you know?"

"Oh, um, yeah. All right then." Rose was tired, but it'd be nice to talk to Shareen for a bit, seeing as she was apparently now taking an interest. "What time?"

"I can be at yours in half hour, if that's all right?"

"Sure," agreed Rose warmly. "It'll be lovely to see you!"

When Shareen arrived exactly thirty minutes later, she gaped at Rose. "You look huge!"

"Thanks," Rose laughed, ushering her friend into the living room. She offered her a packet of crisps and a bottle of beer.

"Just like old times," grinned Shareen.

Rose lifted up her glass of orange juice. "Well, not quite."

"So, how's it feel? Being all…pregnant?"

Rose shrugged. "It's all right. Bit of a pain, sometimes, I s'pose - when I can't do the things I'd normally do - but…I dunno, I quite like it, really, now that I'm over the morning sickness. How are you, anyway? What you been up to?"

"Oh, this and that," replied Shareen, taking a sip of her beer. "Met a new bloke."

"Oh, yeah? What's he like?"

"He was rubbish. So I chucked him. Now I've got a new, new bloke."

Rose smiled to herself, letting Shareen talk about her new, new bloke whilst she lost herself in a memory for a few minutes. It had been one of the happiest, strangest moments of her life that day, laying on the Doctor's coat on the applegrass of New Earth. She'd thought everything had been complicated _then, _what with the regeneration and everything, but she'd had no idea just how complicated her life – their life – would become.

"What about you? Heard from that dick of a doctor of yours?" Shareen asked, jerking Rose out of her reverie.

"Um…" Rose paused, thinking back over what she'd told Shareen when she'd first announced her pregnancy and had to explain why she wasn't with the Doctor any longer. She'd told her friend that she'd dumped him, but she hadn't been truthful with the reasons why.

"Rose?" Shareen prompted.

"Yeah, erm. Haven't really been in contact, you know…" she hedged awkwardly, before shoving a few crisps into her mouth.

"Well, good job you got rid, anyway," Shareen snorted, before taking another sip of her beer.

Rose shifted uneasily. She had allowed Shareen to believe, for the past few months, that she'd not seen the Doctor at all. She'd allowed Shareen to think that he never visited. And that made her feel terribly guilty, but she wasn't sure how to get herself out of the predicament, not now that she'd let it go on so long.

"Still, you sure that you didn't get pregnant for that specific reason?" Shareen asked, waggling her eyebrows and taking a biscuit from the plate that Rose had put on the coffee table.

"What do you mean?" asked Rose, her brow furrowing.

"Well, lots of girls do that, don't they? Get themselves up the duff on purpose just so that the bloke feels like he has to stay with 'em."

"Shareen, this baby was completely accidental. You know I never wanted kids."

"Yeah, but then you met that moron, and I'm betting you'd've done anything to stay with him," Shareen pointed out, giving her a grin and a wink.

"What? Don't be daft! We didn't even stay together anyway, so what are you on?"

"Only because you – quite rightly – dumped his arse when it became obvious he didn't want it. I dunno, that's just typical, that is. You go to all that trouble of trying to secure the bloke, and that's what drives him away in the end anyway!" Shareen shook her head sadly. "Still, at least you're shot of him. He was a loony."

"That's not what you said when you met him at New Year's," Rose ground out between clenched teeth.

"Yeah, well, I was drunk. He seemed nice."

"I actually remember you telling me to 'cling onto that one, Rose, or I might have a go,'" Rose replied, arching an eyebrow.

"Like I said, I'd been drinking! I didn't mean it!"

"But you did think he was good-looking."

"Yeah, but that should've been a sign straight-off. The good-looking ones are never satisfied with what they've got. Always looking for something better. Shinier. Grass always greener, and all that."

Rose swallowed hard. "That's a bit unfair," she mumbled. "I mean, not _all _good-looking guys are like that."

"But you said it yourself, Rose! On the phone that time, do you remember? You kept on about how he was a commitment-phobe, babe. It's why I wasn't that surprised when you told me you'd pulled the preggers stunt."

"Shareen, how many more times! I didn't do this on purpose!"

Shareen giggled. "No piercing-the-condom, then?"

"What? Don't be stupid. You watch too much telly."

"If you say so," she shrugged. "Anyway, enough about him. When are you gonna come hang out with the old crew, eh?"

"Shareen, I haven't seen most of 'em for nearly a year. It'd be…awkward, especially now I've got the baby coming."

"Mariah's pregnant too, you know," Shareen said casually.

"What, seriously?" Rose gasped.

"Yep. But unlike your git of an ex, her boyfriend's sticking around."

Rose wrinkled her nose up. "If I were her, I'd rather he didn't – that Ben is a right tosser."

"Oh, it's not Ben's," Shareen corrected hastily. "Sorry, forgot you're not up to speed. Um, it's Craig's. They're together now."

"_Craig? _As in, Craig from the betting shop Craig? Craig who has already been married three times and has four kids, Craig?"

"Yep."

"Wow."

"I know, I know, bit of an age gap."

"Mm."

"Not that you can talk; how many years older than you was your fella?"

Rose coughed. "Um…fifteen. Ish."

Shareen sighed. "See, I told Mariah to be careful 'cos of that. You never know when they're gonna get tired of chasing the younger women and start looking for someone their own age, you know, more mature and all that."

"Mmm," Rose said tightly.

Shareen continued to talk about her and Rose's old group of friends, but by this point, Rose wasn't really interested. None of the people Shareen brought up in conversation had bothered to contact Rose, not even when she'd tried to initiate a reunion dinner. She couldn't really blame them – she had been gone a long time without seeing them, and it wasn't like they had much in common any more. Still, the thought of losing all her old mates brought down Rose's mood a bit. But then she started thinking about Martha, and the new friendship she was forging with her, and she realised that maybe it was good to start afresh, with someone who could better understand her.

And when she came to that realisation, all she wanted to do was say goodbye to Shareen, call up Martha, and get the gossip from her night out. Martha might be a very different person to Rose, who had lived a very different life and come from a very different place, but right now, she felt an infinitely closer bond to her than she did with the friend she had grown up with who was sitting in front of her right at that moment.

And Rose didn't quite know what to think of that.


	15. Chapter 15

~ Part 15 ~

::

One morning, the Doctor burst into the kitchen with such a force that Rose nearly dropped the kettle in surprise. "You all right?" she remarked archly, taking in his dishevelled appearance.

A smile spread across his face and he crossed the room in a few quick strides. "Thank goodness for that," he murmured against Rose's neck, as he grabbed her into a hug.

"What's the matter?"

"How long have I been gone?"

"Two days. Why?"

"It's been months for me," he whispered. "I was so worried that I'd get the date wrong." He felt her go rigid in his arms and he hurriedly explained, "It wasn't my fault, I promise. I've missed you so much. Martha and I got stuck in 1969 without the TARDIS. It was a nightmare. Oh god, I've missed you." He squeezed her tighter, inhaling the scent of her hair as he lifted his head to press a quick but firm kiss to her forehead. His hand trailed down to the prominent curve of her belly and he smiled as he felt the baby kick against his palm.

Rose slowly extricated herself from his embrace, reasserting some boundaries, and offered him a cup of tea.

An hour later, and he'd explained his and Martha's predicament with the Weeping Angels.

"How's Martha feeling?" asked Rose in concern.

He shrugged. "She seems to be okay. But I feel terrible for putting her in such a horrible situation. There were times that I knew how worried she was about never getting the TARDIS back. For her to be trapped in that time forever would've been awful."

"Where is she now?"

"At her Mum's. She missed her family a great deal."

"I can imagine."

"She said she'll come by later to see you. Anyway," he exhaled roughly. "How are you?"

She smiled at him indulgently. "I'm fine. I've stayed in the same space and time for the last two days. The only trouble I've had to face is getting in and out of the bath with this little one attached to me." She gestured at her ever-growing bump.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows. "Well, if you need any help with that, just give me a ring - "

Rose laughed and interjected, "I know your game. You just want to see me naked."

"Well, obviously," he retorted unashamedly.

She smacked him lightly on the arm. "You're terrible."

"Is it really such a shock?" he remarked. "The amount of nakedness in my life has gone down dramatically since you left the TARDIS."

"Martha doesn't wander the halls in just a towel, then?"

"Nope. And I'm not remotely interested in seeing her do so. You know that all I really want is you."

"Well that's a shame," she murmured. "'Cos I think she might fancy you."

"Nah, we cured her of that, apparently," he replied with ease. "What with me being so into you and everything."

Rose let out a shaky breath. "Oh really?"

"Really really." He lowered his voice. "Interesting fact of the day: it's not just your company that I miss."

"Doctor…" she said, the word holding a warning.

He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. All that time not seeing you made me go a bit loopy."

She couldn't help but smile back, but she could feel a blush heating her cheeks, as it always did when the Doctor looked at her like he was looking at her at that moment. She cleared her throat. "Would you like to stay for dinner?"

He nodded. "Please. What are you having?"

"Quite fancy fish and chips. Would you mind popping to the chip shop?" she asked hopefully.

"Sure. Now?"

"Yeah. I'll get you some money, hold on," she said, standing up. She moved over to the table where her bag was situated, and pulled out her purse. He came up behind her, and so when she turned around he was very, very close, and she swallowed hard. "Um, here you go," she mumbled, handing him a twenty pound note.

"Ta," he replied, pocketing it. "Rose?"

"Yeah?"

He stared down at her in silence for a few seconds, his eyes dark. She broke their joined gaze, and hoped she didn't appear affected by his nearness. He could probably hear her heart beating from there, she thought ruefully.

He placed his hand on her baby bump again and smiled softly. "I'll be back in a bit." With that, he turned and left for the chip shop.

Rose sat down on the sofa shakily. It wasn't fair that she still wanted him so badly. It just wasn't fair.

* * *

When he returned with dinner, they settled on the sofa in front of the telly and ate in a companionable silence.

"I never would've asked you for all this, you know," she murmured out of the blue, once she'd nearly finished her cod and chips.

"What do you mean?" he asked curiously, before taking another bite of his food.

"All…this." She gestured around her. "I never would have asked you to settle down or get a house. I wouldn't have given you any ultimatums. I wouldn't have asked for things you couldn't give."

He frowned. "Rose, where is this going?"

She huffed in frustration, because she couldn't find the right words to express what she wanted to say. "What I mean is, this is all accidental. I would never have asked you to choose between me and the universe, or me and the TARDIS or whatever. I just want you to know that."

"I'm confused," he admitted.

Rose rolled her eyes at him. "I suppose I'm trying to say that I didn't get pregnant on purpose, and I wouldn't have done so to trap you, or something."

"Why would you think that I thought you would have?"

"I dunno. It's just something Shareen said." Rose heaved a sigh. "She sort of implied that I got pregnant deliberately so that you would be trapped into a relationship and wouldn't leave me."

He arched an eyebrow. "But _you _left _me," _he retorted. "She knows that."

"Yeah but she doesn't know the details. She thinks it's because you didn't want the baby," Rose confessed.

"_What?" _the Doctor demanded, setting his plate on the coffee table to turn to face her properly. "And you've let her go on thinking that, all these months?"

"Mmm," she replied, biting her lip.

"But why does she think I visit you all the time?"

"She…she doesn't know that you do. She kept going on about how I should cut ties with you and that life, because of the danger and all that, so I let her believe I had, just to shut her up. She doesn't understand me, and she really doesn't understand how I can love that life travelling with you. She pops 'round now and then, but we've…drifted. Me and her, we're not as close as we used to be."

The Doctor blinked at her in astonishment. "Is that why I haven't seen her around here? Because you only invite her 'round when you know I'm not going to turn up?"

"Sort of, yeah, but to be honest, she hardly makes the effort to speak to me let alone come and see me, so it's not a regular thing. Listen, why are you so bothered about what Shareen thinks anyway?"

"Because _you _are so bothered about what Shareen thinks, that's why."

"I'm not," Rose protested.

"Rose, you felt the need to make sure I knew that you wouldn't've given me an 'ultimatum' or get pregnant on purpose, which shows that you took to heart what she said. It hurt your feelings and worried you, hence this very discussion. So of course what she thinks bothers me, because it's obviously hurting _you_."

"I just – I dunno. It got me thinking, that's all."

"Rose," he said softly. "Don't let her make you feel like this."

She sighed. "I know I'm being stupid. I mean, you were the one who told me that I'd never even be able to _get _pregnant…" She fixed him with a glare, and he winced.

"Yes, well. That was a mistake, and I'm sorry I didn't make sure before…"

"Too late now," she murmured.

"Yeah." He picked his food back up and started eating again.

There was an awkward silence for a minute or two, before Rose broke it, "It's weird, though. 'Cos I don't regret it."

He met her gaze instantly, something lighting up in his eyes. "You don't?"

"Nope." Then she smiled at him, slowly. "I've got something to tell you."

"What's that?" he asked eagerly, deciding he was done with his dinner and setting it aside again.

"The connection you said I'd feel, to the baby, in my head – it's getting stronger every day."

"Yeah?" he beamed at her.

"Mmhmm."

"What does it feel like?"

"Oh, it's…" she sighed wistfully, closing her eyes. "It's hard to describe how it feels…just feels…safe."

"I'm so glad you're able to feel her. I won't be able to until after she's born." The Doctor grabbed her hand without thought, giving it an excited squeeze. Her eyes popped open and she glanced down. He realised what she was staring at and quickly released her hand. "Sorry," he mumbled, then cleared his throat.

"It's all right," she replied, just as quietly. They watched each other for a few moments. Rose didn't miss the way his eyes kept flickering to her lips.

"I'd have been able to deal with it better, I think," he whispered. "If you were there."

"Deal with what?"

"Being stuck without the TARDIS. I think it would've been easier, if I'd known that I was going to see you again, definitely. Or if you'd been there, with me and Martha. I…"

"You got back," Rose said, giving him a sympathetic smile. "That's all that matters. You got the TARDIS back, and you got back here."

"To you."

"Yeah."

"What if something like that happens again? What if I don't get back, or I get back too late because something goes wrong with the TARDIS?"

"Don't say stuff like that."

"Why not?"

"Because it sort of panics me, all right, to think that I might have to give birth to a half-alien baby on my own," she snapped. He flinched, and she hastily added, "Sorry. Didn't mean to shout. I just – don't even think about all the things that could go wrong. Or at least, don't tell me about them. I'm scared enough as it is."

He frowned. "Are you?"

"Yeah. I mean, I'm happy, and I'm…I'm glad that we're having a baby, I just…it's still scary, right?"

"Yes. Yes, it is." He reached for her hand again. "May I?" he said tentatively. She nodded, and he took her hand. "I'm sorry. Everything's going to be fine."

She could tell he was still worried. "Look, if you start to feel really anxious about it, then…well, when the baby's due, you could come and stay here for a few days. You know, just to make sure you don't miss the big event."

He let out a breath of relief. "Yeah?"

"Yes."

"Thanks."

Rose shrugged.

"Rose…" His thumb stroked against hers.

"Mmm?"

He shifted slightly, so that he was a bit closer to her. "I've been thinking…"

She swallowed hard. "Doctor - "

At that point, the doorbell rang, and Rose jumped. She quickly stood, and rushed out of the living room to answer the door. The Doctor clenched his fists for a moment, releasing a long, shaky breath.


End file.
